Steel Vengeance
by CyberJordan
Summary: Post Broken Steel. When a deadly new enemy attacks the Enclave Remnant in Baltimore, will the Lone Wanderer find it in his heart to forgive and help?
1. Trouble on 2 homefronts

**Capital Wasteland-November 2278**

"Come on you assholes, we haven't got all day. Your new owners are waiting!"

The four slavers in mercenary garb were nervous and had good reason to be. The Capital Wasteland was not so tolerant of their kind anymore since the destruction of Paradise Falls and they knew it. Trouble was that travel across the wastes hadn't got that much safer in the last year and it was painfully slow progress with eight slaves. They'd hoped to be at the Pitt train tunnel and home free by now. Due to a lot of rests and other problems they'd only reached Northwest Seneca station and didn't look like getting much further.

As it turned out they would be getting _no_ further. The Asian slaver at the back was in the act of kicking a slave who'd gone down exhausted when his head exploded. The second one next to him barely had time to realise this when a second shot rang out and he was catapulted backward several feet to land dead on his back.

"Oh shit it must be...!" A third shot literally cut off that sentence and the third one's head leaving only the panicked leader pointing his assault rifle in every direction...until a fourth shot blew his left arm off.

"OH FUCCKKKK...MY ARM!"

"Guess we can call the Mk 2 Recon Armour a success then."

Leon Kallan, the Lone Wanderer, turned off his new black armour's stealth field a short distance away as he walked over to the awestruck slaves and started deactivating the cheap explosive collars they wore. It was a cross between the standard Recon Armour and Combat Armour and better yet had a stealth field incorporated into it. Coupled with the head covering mask it had attached the wearer ended up looking like a modern day ninja and it made Leon a fearful sight to his enemies.

"Bastard!"

"Oh you're still alive?" Leon spat at the slaver. "I thought you fuckheads would have learned after what I did to Paradise Falls."

The slaver's eyes became dinner plates. "Oh shit..."

"You said it." Leon looked over the slaves his eyes narrowing even further as he saw three of them were kids. "Sorry I can't give you everything you deserve but this will have to do!"

The slaver didn't have time to scream before Leon's fifth shot shattered his head into bloody pieces. He spat on the corpse as he holstered his Blackhawk and went by to escort the freed slaves safely back to Big Town.

**Next day- Citadel**

_GNR...Three Dog...all you need to know. _

Leon had switched on GNR to help pass the time while repairing his armour and several other suits down in the Forge at the Citadel. The sore truth was he did everything and anything to pass time so he didn't have to think that much anymore. It might have been the best year the Capital Wasteland had ever known but for him the last six months had been barely passable. He'd not heard anything from Amata or Vault 101 since he'd put her in the Overseer's seat and Dogmeat had passed away in his sleep 2 months ago. Fawkes and Charon were living in Underworld and had their own lives to lead. Aside from his casual friends in Megaton and his comrades in the Brotherhood he truly was the Lone Wanderer now and he was starting to feel it. Although he was constantly coming up with new designs and weapons for the Brotherhood and doing wonders cleaning out the Super Mutants from the DC ruins it felt like his life had lost any sense of direction.

..._now I know that I've been a little light on news lately, but we all know who's responsible for that don't we children? If Mr 101 had never shown himself or simply didn't care, we'd be in one hell of a mess. As it is we've got fresh water, a lot less jolly green giants and best of all no more Enclave fascists. _

Leon smiled a little at that. The one bright spark was that no one had seen or heard anything of the Enclave since he gave them a requiem at Adams Air Force base. Either they had finally got the hint that their self styled 'America' wasn't wanted or they'd simply died out. Leon, not surprisingly, was hoping for the latter. He'd never forgiven the Enclave for what they'd done and nor would he ever.

"You're _still_ working down here?"

"Yes I am Sarah," Leon replied without looking around. "And I'm going to be for awhile yet."

Sarah Lyons sighed. "This isn't healthy, Leon. You can't spend the rest of your life fixing armour and being a one man police force for the wasteland."

"And what am I supposed to do instead then? You tell me."

"Try and live a little," Sarah advised. "At least take it a little easier. Rothchild might appreciate you slaving away down here and we all appreciate you killing mutants in the day but..."

"I know, Sarah! Don't you think I know that? But I don't know how to do anything else. And I don't think I'm ready to 'live' a little as you put it yet."

"Well if not now...when?"

Sarah's question was gentle but it hit hard. Worse yet she didn't have much of an answer either. She knew full well he didn't want to settle down anymore than she did. Both of them were warriors and wouldn't give up that role. She also knew that he wasn't over Amata yet and not interested in looking for relationships elsewhere. Given these cold hard facts there were only one or two options left.

"I...don't know."

"Well if you're not ready to live yet; are you ready for a drink or two? You, me, some of the Pride and Paladin Tristan. How about it?"

Leon sighed indifferently. "I was going home after finishing this off..."

"Fine, then we'll have it in Megaton," Sarah's tone indicated he wasn't getting out of this. "Finish up, clean up and then meet us topside. Consider that an order, Knight Commander!"

Leon seethed inside as she left grinning. So much for a quiet night.

**Settlement of Baltimore Haven- 40 miles NE of the Capital Wasteland**

Baltimore Haven was well named, being the largest and safest settlement for miles around. It was unusual in a few ways. First it was huge; over three times the size of Megaton. It was built inside what was left of the west side of Baltimore, which hadn't been hit as bad as Washington, and had several intact pre-war buildings and apartment blocks inside its walls. The best part was the intact vault, Vault 99, located in the middle; in fact most of the settlers were descended from the original vault dwellers.

Vault 99 had been a happy standard vault in its day and had operated just as the Vault-Tec brochure said it would. But upon opening the doors to a hostile environment, the vault dwellers decided not to explore too far. They'd simply repaired and developed the apartment blocks that remained and walled off the area with walls of rubble and scrap metal. 200 years on the settlement was still intact and thriving. The vault's water systems still functioned so that was never a problem and between home grown allotments and scavenging neither was food. The only major threats in the area were Raider gangs and feral ghouls. But these had been less of a problem since the arrival of the settlement's newest residents: the 200 Enclave troops that had arrived from the Capital Wasteland.

These troopers, led by Major Gary Houser, weren't exactly Enclave regulars. They had been considered misfits and troublemakers by the leadership but this was not due to any lack of skill or loyalty to the cause. The difference was that they actually _cared _about the wasteland and its people, which was how they'd all been reassigned from the main division in the Capital Wasteland and sent northeast to Baltimore on scouting and fact finding duties. On finding Baltimore Haven they'd been quick to establish relations and then spent most of the last six months securing a new outpost for themselves there. All had gone well for Enclave and residents alike...until now.

Since three months ago people had been disappearing from the settlement, just completely vanishing with no signs of a struggle or any warning. It had been subtle, only one or two people at a time, but it was getting worse and it didn't seem to matter how many guards got posted (whoever it was just got by them) or what sensors and cameras were put up (these were found to be hacked or erased). Total so far was 60 people abducted including 5 Enclave.

"Still no response?" The silver haired 51 year old major was feeling double his age as he headed for the vault entrance for a meeting with the settlement council and his officers.

"Sorry sir, still nothing." Lieutenant Kayla Thomson wished she had better news. "I just hope Dan has better news when he gets back."

"I hope so too. He's been gone too long as it is. Something must have gone wrong back there."

Desperate for news and reinforcement from the Capital Wasteland Houser had sent his other main subordinate, Captain Daniel Kerrigan, back in one of the three Vertibirds he had at his disposal. He knew he was violating orders by doing so but he needed more help here desperately and after weeks of no replies to his radio calls he decided he had no other option. The fact that he'd been gone a day and a half only increased Houser's worry. By Vertibird it only took half an hour to get to Washington from here. He was still pondering what to do next when one of his soldiers intercepted him.

"Sir, we've got a Vertibird coming in from the south."

Houser's heart lifted a little as he saw it was the one he'd sent out. It quickly plummeted again when he saw his Captain getting out of the Vertibird. His face was as grim as a mortician's.

"Dan, what happened? You're well overdue," Kayla beat Houser to meeting up with Dan. "Is help on the way?"

"No, no help at all." The raven haired 35 year old Captain looked whipped as he said this.

"What? You're kidding me! You mean to say that son of a bitch Autumn's sending nothing?"

"There's nothing to send, Kayla. We're all that's left." Dan nodded his head at the box he was carrying under his left arm. Both recognised it instantly as the 'black box' data core from Raven Rock, the kind that was jettisoned for recovery in the event of a base self destruct.

Houser's face was ashen. "Captain, you mean that we're..."

"...all that's left of the Enclave on the whole coast? Yes sir, we are. We're also in deep shit wouldn't you say?"

**Megaton**

Moriarty was starting to think Christmas had come early. The Brotherhood platoon, consisting of Dusk, Glade, Kodiak, Vargas, Tristan and Sarah, had gone through 2 rounds of drinks already and they didn't look like slowing down. There was only one problem, at least as far as Sarah was concerned; Leon was a no show at the bar. He'd come out of the Citadel without a complaint, went to his house to change clothes again once they'd arrived and 30 minutes later still nothing.

_If he thinks he's getting out of this he's got another think coming!_ Sarah thought darkly. She was halfway to the door intent on dragging Leon there when he came in on his own. But he certainly wasn't in party mode as he was decked out in his customised Hellfire Armour and sporting his Metal Blaster. This made Leon look like he'd ascended straight from the pits of hell. He'd taken a standard Hellfire suit, emblazoned the Brotherhood logo onto the arms below the shoulders and, for psychological show, he'd riveted combat knife blades over his shoulder pads and down the front to his chest and from the elbows as well. He'd also replaced the standard helmet with a T-51b helmet which he'd painted black. Most Raiders ran clean away without a shot when they saw him in this suit.

"Leon, what are you..?"

"Sorry Sarah, party's going to have to wait. I've got a problem I need to take care of."

"Ok, what sort of problem?" Sarah asked as the rest of the group came over to join them.

In response Leon punched several buttons on his Pipboy.

THIS IS AN EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION FROM VAULT 101:

"Leon, I hope you can hear this. I can understand if you never wanted to see me again but I really need your help. The Vault needs your help. We weren't ready for facing the outside world like you did and we need you again. The code to the vault door is now your name. The Vault needs a hero and...from what we've heard on GNR you are one. Please help us and come home."

Leon turned off the message and snorted. "Yeah right...and I'm the next Enclave President."

"That _was _Amata, wasn't it?" Sarah asked starting to catch on.

"Yeah but you heard her voice there, someone was forcing her to say that crap, and given the way I left do you really think she'd invite me back just like that?" Leon looked round the table for opinions and all he got were nods of agreement. "So I'm going back but it _won't _go the way they think it will; and if they've hurt Amata or anyone down there..." Leon raised his hand and closed it into a fist for show.

"Good thinking," Paladin Tristan smiled at the man he'd mentored and considered the best the Brotherhood had. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go kick some ass!"

"Wait a minute! We? What do you mean we?" Leon was taken aback.

"You're one of us, kid. In case you hadn't noticed," Vargas chimed in. "I don't know what things were like in that vault but we look after our own."

"Too damn right!"

"Count me in!"

Despite Leon's protests every single one of the platoon was adamant about going in with him. As he thought more about it the more he liked it. Whoever was pulling the strings down in the vault was expecting just him but what they'd get was him plus the Brotherhood's elite; enough to sterilise the Vault ten times over. Yes, he was starting to like this idea a lot.

Five minutes after collecting all their helmets and guns they were on the road through Springfield.

"What kind of resistance should we expect?" Tristan was asking.

Leon scoffed. "Pathetic. Cheap vault armour and cheap 10mm pistols, Raiders could do better than they've got. One or two of us could clean the place out without breaking a sweat. All that worries me is what's happened to Amata and the others in her group."

"Well since this is your turf and your friends are involved you can lead this op," Sarah suggested.

Leon stared at her as though she'd gone mad. "Me in charge of the Pride?"

"Speaking for myself I'd follow you into hell."

Leon waited for objections from the rest of the group. He was stunned when there wasn't any and all the others just stared at him in expectation waiting for his orders.

"OK, fine. Helmets on. Let's do this!"

**Vault 101**

It was close to 21:00 when they reached the outer Vault door illuminated in the moonlight.

"I'll go first, let them think it's just me then if there is any trouble we'll give them a surprise," Leon ordered coldly.

The first surprise, however, was that the main door was already open and the second was the heated argument that they could hear just inside. From what Leon could hear it was Butch and one of the old Vault guards that he'd left alive during his escape, Officer Park.

"...you always were the slow one, Butch. It wasn't Amata who sent out the signal."

"Then who the fuck did?" Butch's loud voice was unmistakable.

"The rightful Overseer, Allen Mack."

At that Leon's eyes narrowed hard. Although he knew he wasn't all that popular in the vault Mack was one of the few who'd outright hated him and his father. The feeling was mutual. Both James and Leon had had nothing but contempt for Mack. 'An overrated sycophant' had been James's description of him. Leon had no doubt the only reason Steve Mack had been allowed to join the vault guards was his father's ass kissing to the Overseer. This meant, as far as Leon was concerned, that Allen Mack was just as culpable for Jonas's death as Alphonse Almodovar had been.

_That son of a bitch thinks he can just overthrow Amata and lure me back into a trap? _Leon pulled the Metal Blaster from his back and armed it. Mack was about to get a serious Capital Wasteland lesson that most had learned well over a year ago: do not fuck with the Lone Wanderer and expect to get away with it with no consequences. The Enclave had learnt that the very hard way. It would be interesting to see how Vault 101 would do...

Author's note: Love/hate or somewhere in between? This is my first attempt and I'm still finding my feet so feel free with constructive criticism/ideas and I'll get the next part up ASAP (assuming I don't get too hooked on New Vegas).


	2. Vault assault and brutal truth

Leon snuck in the door to see that it wasn't just Butch and Officer Park but Susie Mack, Christine Kendall and one other guard that he couldn't identify. The guards had all their attention on his former classmates and hadn't seen Leon. Butch had seen Leon out of the corner of his eye but not fully. Thinking quickly he tried to create a diversion.

"So what the hell's going to happen now?"

Park sneered. "We're taking you to the security room just like everyone else. Once we've got everyone the vault door's getting closed, this time for good. All except 'hero boy', that is! When he turns up..."

"...You're totally screwed?" Park's blood turned to ice as he heard Leon's voice right behind and he turned his head to face the livid Lone Wanderer pointing his Metal Blaster straight at him.

"I-Is that you?"

"Did you need a cheat sheet to work that out, asshole?" Leon's mad voice sounded even more terrifying coming through the T-51 helmet.

The other guard turned out to be Officer Taylor. He slowly turned his gun arm around but this didn't escape Leon's notice.

"Don't even think about it, old man. Drop that gun and get against the wall. If you don't I'll start with him and then I'll finish with you, now drop it!"

Taylor wasn't much of a fighter and he quickly complied. Butch swiftly snatched up the gun and turned it on Park. Park quickly followed suit and Christine snatched his gun up as Leon slung him against the wall to join Taylor.

Leon wrenched down his helmet to reveal his furious face. "Now what are you jokers up to?"

Park was sweating at Leon's eyes and expression. Both were stone cold. He knew they probably wouldn't change if Leon put a laser beam through him either.

"Allen Mack thought he should have taken charge and the vault door should never have been opened and..."

"Tell me something I don't know, "Leon snapped impatiently. "Like where the hell is Amata and how many of you morons went along with Mack? Let me guess, just the guards right?"

When neither one answered Leon knew he was right. Even though he knew he was resented by Stanley, Pepper Gomez and the like he also knew Mack and his police state was going to be liked even less.

"She's in the security office," Taylor said. "Most of them are."

"This doesn't change anything, you little delinquent shit!" Park unwisely mouthed off. "The Overseer's counting on you coming back. He and the rest of the guards will kick your ass!"

Leon sneered in contempt. "Didn't know any of them could kick that high. Now I'm just going to go get my vault friends out with the help of my _other _friends."

Park's face was a real picture as he saw the Brotherhood platoon enter the vault. So were his classmates. Butch, Susie and Christine knew of the Brotherhood and had dealt with them on the trade runs they'd made for the vault but they'd had no idea that Leon was in with them.

"Who's the little shit now, eh?" Leon taunted Park. "Now as I said I'm getting the others out and then I'm giving Mack a steel enema...or a laser one if he's dumb enough!"

At hearing that Susie's face became panic stricken. "Leon, I know you and my dad aren't friends and he's gone way too far this time but..."

"I know, Susie. He's still your dad. But you know this can't stand. Vault 101's secret is out and blown. Locking the vault again is not going to work no matter what he says or does; hell Amata's father was smart enough to figure that out."

"Let's get your friends out before we decide what to do next, ok? " Sarah suggested. "If we can do that Mack and his friends will be isolated and I bet they'll think twice before taking us on."

"Good idea," Leon slammed his helmet back down and pulled Park to his feet roughly. "Now you are going to lead us down to the security office and open it up for us. Try anything else and you're dust."

**Vault 101 security office**

_Goddamned Allan Mack and his tunnel snake brat! Where the hell did I go wrong? _Amata Almodovar had been asking herself that question for god knows how long now since she'd ended up stuck in the security office along with most of the civilian vault population including the whole Gomez family (Herman Gomez was the one guard who refused to serve Mack), Stanley Armstrong, Edwin Brotch, Butch's mother Ellen and the previous Overseer Alphonse Almodovar who was looking in deep concern at Amata.

"Can't believe it came to this," Stanley was muttering.

"Me neither," Officer Gomez pounded the wall in frustration." I always knew Mack was arrogant but I didn't think he was a simpleton as well."  
"Yes arrogance and stupidity in the same package is a fatal mix," Alphonse agreed. He hated to see his daughter paying the price for his own errors. "Fortunately I was taught that lesson before I went too far. Not that it seems to matter now."

"I just hope he doesn't believe that message I sent and stays away," Amata sniffled. She felt ashamed of herself for having sent it even though she'd been forced.

"I think you underestimate your friend, Amata," her father took an assuring tone. "He bested me more than once, remember? I have no doubt a fool like Mack will not have any success either."

Freddie Gomez grunted. "I hope he does come back to kick Mack's ass!"

As if in answer to Freddie's wish the sound of gunfire and laser fire suddenly rang through the vault...

**Vault 101 Overseer's office**

Allen Mack was starting to get a little concerned about the way things were playing out, or not playing out depending on your point of view. Although he managed to take over the vault most of the residents weren't cooperating. He'd placed the bulk of them in the security office but that was no long term solution. It didn't matter what he used: threats, persuasion, bribery, all were useless. His coup had turned them solidly against him. If they wouldn't come out voluntarily and return to their jobs to keep things running then his coup was all but meaningless; the vault just wouldn't function, period. As if that wasn't enough he'd not heard a word from the door. He'd been putting the transmission that he'd forced Amata to give (by threatening to blow off her father's head) all day but there'd been no response from the door at all.

_Perhaps I should have sent more men to guard the door?_ He quickly quashed the thought. There was no way that second rate punk would get out of this one. God only knew how he'd got that radio station fawning over him and spouting all that crap but Mack determined that it would end here. Suddenly he was jolted awake by several red flashes that he saw through the office window. He quickly looked out and was frozen in sheer disbelief by what he saw.

The Brotherhood platoon was forcing its way through the main hall; actually they were just striding through the hall against pitiful opposition. Nearly all the guards were fleeing in terror from their much better armed, armoured and trained opponents after seeing two of their own cut down like dogs. Leon and the Pride wasted no time going through the hall and past the cafeteria. From there it was virtually just a stroll up the stairwell and through to the security office. Allan Mack was at a complete loss as to what to do now. Instead of a lone punk he'd hope to trap he'd ended up with seven soldiers in power armour and armed with lasers. How they'd accessed the vault in the first place was a mystery but not important right now. Running over to the main console Mack activated the hidden Overseer's tunnel access and fled immediately.

On reaching the wide open vault door he quickly moved to shut it down again, hoping he could lock it down and use it as a means to bargain with his unknown attackers. On pulling the lever however he received a rude shock as it refused to work! Leon had anticipated a cowardly move of this sort and, together with the Pride's tech expert Paladin Glade, had rigged both controls by pulling out vital circuits and jamming it open.

"DAD!" Mack looked up to see his terrified son Wally running out of the main hall corridor.

"Wally! Thank god you're all right, what's happening?"

"Those tin men just blew right by us dad! We couldn't stop them, what are we going to do now?"

Mack got no time to reply as a nearby wall intercom came to life with the voice of Paladin Tristan.

"This is a message to the terrorist usurper Allen Mack from the Brotherhood of Steel, respond immediately!"

_They know me? How the hell is that possible? _Mack was taken completely by surprise. As he absorbed the message however his arrogance soon returned as he strode over to the intercom.

"Who the hell is this and who the hell do you think you are?"

"This is Paladin Tristan of the Brotherhood of Steel," was the calm response. "Who is this?"

"I am Allen Mack the rightful Overseer..."

"...Ah the usurper," Tristan cut Mack right off. "I'm afraid I'm standing right next to the rightful Overseer and the previous one right now. Needless to say they're none too happy with you, nor are the organisation I represent. You have just had a foretaste of what happens to those who foolishly attempt to attack one of our order. However Overseer Amata is offering clemency if you will surrender now. This is her jurisdiction so I will oblige this time."

Mack was starting to sweat. As they'd reached Amata he knew his claim to legitimacy was kaput. Still he was not ready to just give up and die.

"I still have at least 30 vault guards to protect me and the safety of this vault. How many do you have?"

"Seven."

"You come in here to destroy my vault with only seven soldiers?"

Tristan was now losing patience. "Firstly this is not your vault. Secondly we are here to liberate not to destroy and thirdly we could destroy your vault with just one soldier. Your guards are superior in only one respect."

"What's that?" Mack was trying to stop shaking with nerves.

"They're better at dying as you'll find out first hand if you don't surrender now!" Tristan snapped. "Here's what will happen. Your guards will proceed to the security office. On the way in they will be searched, their weapons will be confiscated and then they will take the place of the residents in the cell. Once this is done we will meet you in the main hall along with the Overseer where we will accept your surrender. Do not even think of trying anything. Thanks to Overseer Amata I know exactly how many guards there should be so you and your men have five minutes to begin surrendering. After that your lives are forfeit."

**Security Office**

The last hour had been exhilarating for Amata and her supporters. At first the sight of the power armoured soldiers had been a terrifying one as they saw Officer Armstrong, who unwisely tried to take them down, reduced to ashes by their lasers. That didn't last long as they saw Susie, Christine and Butch alongside their new allies.

"Amata! Are you ok?" Christine asked as they shoved Officers Taylor and Park into the cell and onto the floor.

"I'm fine. Who are your friends?" Amata had been agape at the sight of the Brotherhood.

Sarah pulled off her helmet. "Sentinel Sarah Lyons, Brotherhood of Steel eastern chapter. A mutual friend sent us to help."

"I never thought I'd say this to outsiders, but thank you for your help," Alphonse replied in gratitude.

"I'm not the one you should be thanking..." Sarah looked over to the entrance door where Leon was removing his helmet.

Amata was stunned. "L-Leon! You came back!"

"Yeah, surprised the shit out of me too," Leon said bitterly. "I didn't think I'd ever come back here."

Amata looked down in shame as he said that. So did a lot of the other vault dwellers.

"Speaking for all of us, we're real glad you did," Mr Brotch finally broke the ice.

"Speaking of which we're still not done, we have that double crossing snake to deal with," Leon nodded at Paladin Tristan who'd gone over to the intercom to implement the next part of the plan.

It worked like a charm as Mack didn't have any choice in the end. His men voted with their feet and surrendered by themselves. Forty minutes later Mack and Wally were the only rebels that remained free and outside the cell. The thought of fleeing into the wasteland was anathema to Mack and he didn't even consider it as Leon known he wouldn't. He could only walk, half in a daze, down to the main hall as he had been instructed along with Wally.

Paladin Kodiak watched him and Wally enter from his vantage point in the Overseer's office window before going back to the security office.

"The emperor's new clothes are in the hall now trying hard not to piss his pants."

"Shall we go?" Leon asked the crowd around him as he replaced his helmet. "I think we've all got a few things to say to him, don't we?"

"More than a few, that's for sure!" Amata's anger with Mack had nearly reached boiling point. "In fact, I've got an idea how to solve this once and for all."

Even Leon was stunned when he heard what Amata had in mind. The vault dwellers, especially her father, had all frozen up in shock.

Leon stared at Amata hard. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "Deadly. I should have done this last time you were here instead of sending you away and I really should have known this vault wouldn't hold together with Mack and his stupid thugs in it. I have no right to ask this, I know, but will you help us again? You're the only one of us who can."

Leon nodded. "Let's go break the news to the Overseer wannabe then. I can't wait to see his face when we tell him!"

Mack, meanwhile, was sweating like a pig in the main hall. This only got worse as he saw a fuming Amata and Alphonse Almodovar accompanied by the Brotherhood squad and quite a few other angry vault dwellers. He knew that his future was looking decidedly bleak...

**Vault 99 Overseer's office**

Miles away from the action at Vault 101, Dan Kerrigan was using the computers in the Overseer's office of Vault 99 to view the data from the black box that he'd recovered from Raven Rock, mainly footage from all of Eden's security cameras. He wanted to be fully prepared for the upcoming strategy meeting with Major Houser.

"Find anything interesting on that?" Typically the Major was early.

Dan nodded as he flicked through the camera footage. "Yeah, quite a lot actually, confirmed a lot of what I suspected. Is Kayla with you?"

"She'll be here soon; she's just getting the Mayor to join us."

Kayla showed up five minutes later along with the Mayor/Sheriff of Baltimore Haven, a red haired 55 year old by the name of Jim Lawson. He looked real sombre.

"I hope you guys have got some good news. We lost Martin and Abby last night!"

Dan sucked in a breath. "They hit again? That's four in as many weeks now!"

"If they keep going at this rate we haven't as much time as we thought. We'll run out of people by the middle of next year!" Kayla was just as fraught.

To tell the truth so was Houser. He'd upgraded the security sensors and cameras around the vault and the surface of Baltimore Haven and put on extra patrols. What difference had it made? Not a jot. He hid all this a lot better than his subordinates however.

"Rest assured, Jim, we're working round the clock on this and we are sending for help. I know these abductions have got us all scared but we must keep our heads. I'll send out more search parties for you." He left unsaid what everyone was thinking: that this wouldn't do any good. Previous searches certainly hadn't. Houser also wisely left out the not so minor problem that they didn't have any help coming at all.

"Well I hope you get more luck soon. Yuna's beside herself, Abby was one of her best friends! Speaking of which I'd better go make some house calls, see how everyone's doing." Jim's expression indicated he was looking forward to that no end.

Kayla and Houser looked hopefully at Dan as the Mayor left. Of all of them Dan had always been the one to pull their nuts out of the fire in an emergency and they were hoping for the same now.

"I do have an idea. But I can tell you right now you're not going to like it."

"I like the situation we're in a whole lot less," Houser didn't mince words."If we don't stop these attacks or at least find out who or what is behind them soon this settlement will turn on us! God only knows what we'll do then."

Dan nodded. "I know that. But my solution could kill us faster than these attacks will if it's not done right." He went over to the monitors leaving them with puzzled expressions. "As you know I've been looking over this all day. I've identified who blew up Raven Rock."

He brought up the image of the interrogation cell before hell had swept through the base.

"Who's that?" Kayla asked.

"Leon Kallan, sound familiar?"

Houser recognised it first. "Kallan? That's the same name as the head scientist from that Project Purity that Eden was obsessed about, wasn't it? The one killed in that botched raid?"

"The very one."

They all watched Colonel Autumn's less than successful interrogation. All he got was two words: fuck and you. Well, that and a face full of spit before Eden had called him away.

"Hard to believe that dick was ever our leader," Kayla snorted.  
"No arguments there," Houser agreed. "Subtle as a Super Mutant on Jet."

In fact that was one thing _everyone_ in their unit could agree on: Augustus Autumn hadn't been fit to run a cold let alone the Enclave army. He had been an able tactician and military leader but he'd no other talents apart from scoring high in the asshole division and having an ego as big as the Capitol Building.

"Keep your eyes on the next part," Dan warned them as they watched the Lone Wanderer rearm himself before their view changed to the camera in the corridor outside.

By now they could see another Enclave officer ordering Leon back into the cell. Leon's response was beyond ruthless as he raised his Blackhawk and blew the officer into the next life. Despite the 'truce' offered by Eden Leon went through the base firing at every Enclave soldier he encountered mowing through them like he was like a well oiled combat machine. The look of sheer hatred on his face as he killed all before him would have chilled even the bravest of souls. No one on that floor survived his wrath. Not even Anna Holt, his father's old associate. Her reward for deciding to help the Enclave was a shotgun blast to the head.

"Whoa..." Kayla pretty much summed it up with one word.

"You haven't seen the best parts yet," Dan brought up another view they recognised. This one was from Eden's main screen on the top level of the base.

"Can you get sound on this?" Houser asked.

"Hang on...there, that's got it." Dan flicked a few switches and the old voice of President Eden came on.

"...Your country needs you."

"What country?" Leon snorted in derision. "Everything's been destroyed for 200 years in case you hadn't noticed."

"That's a bit of a bleak outlook don't you think? The United States has fallen on hard times but it can be healed."

"Eden could usually talk an old man out of his dentures, couldn't he?" Kayla joked at Dan.

"Not today," Dan replied without a trace of humour. As they looked at Leon on the screen they suddenly realised what he meant as the conversation went on. The look of sheer hate was coming back.

"..Your father's work may..."

"My dad's work was going great until your fuckwit Colonel and his thugs showed up."

Eden suddenly realised this wasn't going as he'd planned."Colonel Autumn is not subtle and his actions were not sanctioned by me. I can only apologise..."

"Apology NOT accepted! " Leon's hurt and rage was coming out all at once. "You attack my dad's work, you kill him in front of me, you kidnap me and then you have the fucking gall to ask for my help!"

Stunned by the level of bile coming at him Eden was momentarily stunned and lost for words.

Leon didn't give him any chance as he broke out in a cruel smile. "Well here's my full answer and I can only say I'm 'sorry' for this!"

Leon then used the base's self destruct code that Autumn had unwisely left lying around his quarters for him to find, snatched the FEV virus to hand over to the Brotherhood, and left via the base front door.

After taking a full half minute to absorb all that they'd seen and learned Houser brought up the obvious question. "This answers a lot of questions, Dan. But how does this pertain to our current situation?"

"I've also got these. They're recordings from Galaxy News Radio; you know that radio station that has ties to the Brotherhood of Steel?"

"You listened to that?" Houser raised an eyebrow.

"Best source of independent information around. Besides Eden and his music sucked compared to Three Dog," Dan joked. "Listen to this."

_Mr Vault 101 was spotted over in Arefu..._

_Now I've got word from the settlement known as Big Town that..._

_Great news out of the town of Megaton..._

_I've gotten word that a band called Reilly's Rangers..._

Dan played these and a few other GNR news clips.

"Ok...this Lone Wanderer sounds like a great guy so what's your point?" Kayla asked.

Dan was surprised his friends hadn't quite joined the dots yet but went on. "My point is that he's probably the only one who could pull us out of the frying pan we're in now. He seems to be the patron saint of the impossible. He's ruined the Slavers at Paradise Falls, he's survived Super Mutant attacks and rescued some of their victims and done all that stuff you heard on the radio."

Houser was only starting to catch on. "So your plan is to find this hero and get him to help us but we don't know where he is now and that's our problem?"

Dan shook his head. "No, that's _a _problem but it's not _the _problem."

"So what is?"

"Well how can I put this...you saw him on that screen a few minutes ago!"

Dan looked at his friends as the realisation and the horror set in.

"Oh shit, you mean...?"

"Yeah, Colonel Jesus Christ Almighty and that crackpot computer managed to make an enemy of Leon Kallan aka the Lone Wanderer aka Mr Vault 101 aka Wasteland saviour etcetera etcetera etcetera." Dan was steaming about the situation and for good reason; it had been wholly avoidable. "Remember what happened before we were sent out here? The screwed op on Project Purity?"

Houser nodded. "How could I forget? It was the main reason I gave Eden a piece of my mind and how we ended up assigned out here in the first place."

That wasn't exaggerated. Houser had been beyond furious when he'd learned of the Project Purity fiasco. The op was a bungle in any man's language. At the end of the day they'd lost James Kallan unnecessarily, they'd lost 16 men unnecessarily, they'd tipped their hand and word of their existence unnecessarily and all for a water purifier that hadn't even been operational at the time. Their informant, Anna Holt, had jumped the gun in saying that it almost was. No doubt she'd thought, wrongly as it turned out, that James would cooperate and welcome Enclave assistance. Houser knew that he might have done if the leader that day had been different and had negotiated.

"In short we were screwed by our own leaders and made an enemy of the one person in the whole wasteland that we couldn't afford to," Kayla despaired.

Both Kayla and Houser collapsed into chairs as the gravity of the situation became apparent.

Houser was the first to speak again. "So even if we do find this guy..."

"...odds are he'll kill us on sight rather than help us. If I were in his shoes and someone had done that to my dad I wouldn't give half a shit what they had to say. Eden learnt that the really bad way as we saw. I've no doubt he's also the one who totalled Adams Air Force base and our mobile crawler too."

"That's why you were down in the wasteland for so long, wasn't it?" Houser realised. "You were getting all the information you could."

"It gets worse," Dan went on. "Apparently he's also a full member of the Brotherhood of Steel."

Houser was getting more of a migraine by the minute. "So let me get this straight. We're under attack by an unknown enemy and the only person you think can help is someone who'd see us dead in a heartbeat?"

"I said you wouldn't like it. But it's the _only _idea I've got and the only one that's likely to work. What's the alternative? Abandon these people who've put their trust in us? Cut and run? And let's face it where would we run to? Without the crawler we'd never reach NORAD and going back to Washington would be a death sentence."

Houser knew he was right. There was nowhere to run to now; that would be true even if they'd still had the crawler. After the Enclave's humiliating defeat by the NCR and the Brotherhood in the west they'd fled to NORAD first in the hope of setting up shop there. However it had been hit hard by the Chinese nukes during the blitz and was half irradiated when they'd stopped by forcing them just to scavenge, resupply and move on. Odds were by now it was uninhabitable. Also his men were not President Richardson, Eden or Colonel Autumn. They were men of their word and would rightly butcher him if he even thought about abandoning Baltimore Haven. Dan's plan did seem the only viable option but how the hell were they supposed to convince or even approach the Lone Wanderer? Then he got an idea of his own.

"There is one way we could do it. Kayla, can you go get Jim back here once he's finished his house calls?"

"Sure. What have you got in mind?"

"If he won't listen to us then maybe he'll listen to wasteland settlers in need. He doesn't seem the type to ignore that sort of cry for help."

Dan caught on. "We take some residents down there and have them ask him?"

"That's it. I know that's only a temporary fix and he'll still be hostile to us but you said it, what choice do we have?"

"Just one thing you might not have considered, Major. If we are involving our friends here we might have to be...candid with them don't you think?"

Houser knew what Dan was saying. They would have to tell Jim and the other settlers the whole truth about the Enclave and the Lone Wanderer if this was going to work.

"It had to be done sooner or later, might as well be now. While l do it, you go make sure your Vertibird's prepped. You'll be going with whoever's chosen sometime tomorrow."

Author's note: Thanks for reading and reviewing. Nice to know I've been doing something right up to now. Sorry if this seems long winded and slow going but I have to get the background right so this may be going for quite a few parts yet. As always feel free with the constructive criticism/questions/ideas etc. I'll need these to keep going and beat writer's block.


	3. Relocation and misfortune

Author's note: Thanks again for the reviews everyone. I really appreciate them and they keep me going. To answer all questions/queries so far:

Red Menace: read on and Mack's fate will be clear this part.

Krow Blood: sorry the parts aren't too long but I write this way (little and often) to stave off writer's block.

As for the general queries I don't know _exactly _how or where I'm taking this so I'm open to ideas. I'd certainly like some on how you'd like Leon and the Remnant team to meet and how much damage Leon might cause them :). Anyway enough hot air from me and on with the show...

**Vault 101**

If Allen Mack could have melted into a puddle and then through the floor he would have done so without hesitation as he met the blistering glares of Amata and most of the vault population. As if they weren't intimidating enough he had the Brotherhood staring coldly at him through their helmets as well.

"Not much to say for yourself this time, Mr Mack?" Alphonse's tone was dripping with sarcasm and no one was in any doubt as to how he felt.

"I was trying to keep us all safe! You know how dangerous it is out there."

Alphonse just scoffed. "And your response was to turn this place into a prison. Very impressive, you managed to do what I couldn't: turn practically everyone against you. Why do you think I gave up my position as I did? It took some good advice to help me see it but I knew something like this would happen if I hadn't passed authority to Amata that day."

"I don't know what turned you into such a coward, Alphonse. Your daughter made you soft and unwilling to do what had to be done. The people of this vault..."

"...Know exactly what you are now." Alphonse cut him off sharply. "A liar, a betrayer, a usurper and a power grubbing fool!"

"Couldn't have said that better myself," Leon emerged from behind the crowd and started to remove his helmet. "Wish I could say it was nice to see you two again but it wouldn't be true."

Both Mack and Wally looked like they were about to have heart attacks seeing Leon in his formidable power armour.

"What's wrong? No comeback for once, Mack? No smart ass remark?"

"You...how the hell did you...?"

Leon just rolled his eyes. "Please, you're pathetic! Nearest you get to a brainstorm is a cold shower. Amata's voice on the radio message was clue enough and I knew no one here was going to want me back in a hurry given how things went down the last time. Besides I saw Butch and a couple of others on the outside and they certainly didn't need help. This little stunt might as well have worn a shirt that said 'trap'."

Mack groaned inwardly as he realised he'd gravely underestimated this man. "All you've done is proved me right; coming here with outsiders to invade our vault. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. But who am I? I'm Leon Kallan, Knight Commander of the Brotherhood of Steel eastern chapter. Depending on Three Dog's mood I'm also the bane of the Slavers, the killer of the Raiders, a rescuer from the Super Mutants or the scourge of the Enclave. Take your pick." Leon's face then went real dark. "As you can tell I've made a few enemies up there and I don't think any of them envy your position right now at the top of that list!"

Mack couldn't believe it. "Then all that radio stuff...?"

"Never stopped to think that maybe it could be true?" Sarah spoke up. "That he also made friends whilst he was up there? Friends who get very pissed off when jumped up little dictators try stunts like this? Attack one of the Brotherhood and you attack us all!"

"Don't open that mouth again Mack," Leon warned him before he started to mouth off again. "Sarah's ten times the soldier you jokers are ever going to be. So are all the rest."

"So what happens now? You just going to shoot us?" Wally asked.

"Don't tempt me,_"_ Leon spat. "I have every reason to kill you and if it were up to me I would. But it's not up to me, it's Amata's call."

That didn't provide either of them with much comfort. The penalty for sedition in the vault was death as they knew all too well and Amata did not look in a forgiving mood.

"I've had a while to think this through." Amata's voice was quivering and sad but it was firm. "I tried my best to hold this vault together despite all that happened. It was the only plan that was going to work until you and your brat screwed it up for everyone! Well I've made my choice. You can stay as Overseer but the only things you'll be overseeing are your guards. We are leaving this vault for good!"

Mack and Wally were taken aback.

"You should have been a comedian," Mack snorted after a minute.

"See anyone laughing, asshole?" Herman Gomez shot back. "We're all going."

Stanley nodded. "That's right. A lot of us are afraid of what might be out there but we aren't prepared to put up with you or your crap any longer!"

"That goes for all of us," Edwin Brotch added.

Mack suddenly realised by their faces that they were all deadly serious. Their imprisonment at his hands had turned even the old doubters against him. "Alphonse, you can't be going along with this madness!"

Alphonse was unflinching. "A year ago I'd have agreed with you, Mr Mack. It breaks my heart to do this after all that I have done for this vault and its people. But I'm no longer Overseer, my daughter is. She has proved herself more than capable in her time in office. I've never had reason to question her judgment and I'm not about to start now." He looked at Amata proudly. "The plan she set in motion was the only one that would have worked and held the vault together. A plan you have now destroyed with your arrogant hubris."

Amata was just as harsh. "You brought this on yourself, Mack. If you hadn't tried to bring Leon back you might have got away with it. Well you wanted the vault, for what it's worth, now you can have it. Consider that cheap payment for threatening my father and other insults."

Mack looked like he'd been knifed in the stomach. Without Stanley and his mechanics and all of the other civilian staff it was only a matter of time before the vault's systems packed up and failed. There was no way he could keep it running with the guards alone and everybody knew it.

Leon shrugged. "That just about covers it. Well, now we're going. Feel free to go release your guards once we've gone. We'll close the door for you on the way out. If you or any guards are stupid enough to come after us..." He patted the butt of his Metal Blaster for show. "I think even you get the idea. If I ever see you two again it'll be for the last time! Now go hide down a hole like you're so used to doing."

"This isn't over! I'll make this work, you'll see!"

"It's _very_ over, Mr Mack," Sarah warned him. "The Brotherhood will have its eye on this place. If you try anything like this again you'll find out just how over it can get."

Mack collapsed to his knees in shock as everyone moved past him into the stairwell up to the exit. Wally rushed to his side to support him as they filed out. Both knew that, between them and the guards, they had a few months at worst or a year at best before the vault couldn't support them and they'd be forced out onto the surface.

Leon felt a stab of pity when he saw them clinging to each other like life preservers but it passed. Amata was absolutely right; Mack was getting off easy considering what he'd done and the lives he'd taken or ruined. Not that he'd have an easy life from now on but then whoever did in this screwed up world?

With nothing else to say or do Leon went up the stairs to the exit.

**Baltimore Haven**

Dan Kerrigan had done plenty of missions in his time but, suffice it to say, he had never felt such great trepidation as he felt before this one. He'd only three people with him in his team. The first being Kayla, the other most experienced scout they had. The other two were 19 year old volunteers from the settlement. The first was Yuna Lawson, the Mayor's daughter. As her name implied she was Japanese-American and a stunning girl with raven black hair tied up into a ponytail. She'd lost her mother to Raiders in a scavenging run two years ago and now she was losing friends to these mysterious attacks. When Houser offered the chance to try and help the settlement she'd been the first to jump at it, despite her father's attempts to persuade her otherwise. The last team member was Jake Corey. He had blond-gold hair in an unsettler style and really was only going because Yuna was. He'd had a crush on her for the longest time but had never come to terms with it or acted on it yet. Jake wasn't sure how much help he would be on this op but he wasn't about to let Yuna go out alone.

The idea was to send a small team and try and stay undetected until they could reach Leon but even if they did reach him Dan wasn't confident of this ending well. Just under a year was nowhere near enough for Leon to forget and certainly not to forgive.

Major Houser and Jim Lawson met up with the team as they packed guns and gear into their Vertibird for the flight south.

"I'd say good luck and Godspeed but that doesn't seem enough in this case," Houser said to Dan.

Jim was having an even worse time. "Stay safe Yuna. Losing your mother was hard enough but the thought of losing you..."

"Dad, I'm sorry, but I've got to do this. Abby, Martin, Josh and all those others. We can't keep living in fear like this! You know that I'm right."

"Just what your Mom would have said," Jim sighed. He just wished he could get rid of this déjà vu feeling he had. This had been the exact same spot he'd said goodbye to his wife before... Overcome with emotion he pulled Yuna into a hug. "Look after her, Jake. She's all I've got left!"

"I won't let her out of my sight," Jake promised.

Jim turned to Dan. "Dan, answer me truthfully. Will this Lone Wanderer really listen?"

Dan could only shake his head. "I don't know. It will depend on what mood we find him in and god only knows what else."

"This has to go well, everyone." Houser wasn't pulling his punches. "We've no other options left. I'll tighten down security as much as I can while you're gone but I doubt it'll be enough. I don't care what you do or how you do it, Dan. Find Leon Kallan and get him to help us."

Kayla looked nervous. "I know you'll hate me asking this. But if we're discovered and taken by the Brotherhood and they demand our surrender..."

"Give it." Houser hadn't flinched when Kayla asked. "The war in the Capital Wasteland is over and we lost, Kayla. What more need I say? I'm not about to throw good lives away after those of the morons we called our leaders. This settlement is all that we and our friends have left and if the only way we can get help to it is to surrender then we will surrender."

Dan hadn't expected anything else. "Ok, let's saddle up and go!"

It was unfortunate that they weren't a little more alert. But even if they had been they would have been hard pressed to see the small flying object over their heads as it was covered by a stealth field. It remained unseen by all as it finished recording the conversation below and slipped away to the north.

**Vault 101 entrance**

It was 07:00 hours when the group finally emerged into the morning sunrise. It had taken half an hour more and a lot of persuasion getting most of the vault dwellers through the outer door and past the 'gawking' stage that Leon had gone through when he'd first come out. Pepper Gomez, Ellen Deloria, Stanley and a few others were feeling more than a little fraught being in the open air for the first time in their lives. Leon soon realised that wasn't the only problem he had. He certainly hadn't bargained on bringing his old vault family out with him and there was nowhere for them to go or stay right now. He'd said as much to Sarah.

Sarah thought for a moment. "We should head to Megaton first."

"But where to after that?" Leon worried. "Megaton's nearly already full as it is. I know I've earned a few favours but this is pushing it a bit!"

"One thing at a time, Leon. Let's get them there first before some Raiders show up."

"Ok, I'll scout ahead in Springvale with Dusk. I'll signal you if it's all clear."

After a quick explanation to Alphonse and Amata they managed to get the vault dwellers into some kind of marching order and get them moving. The Brotherhood covered them on all sides as they moved guaranteeing a swift death for anyone who tried to interfere. Fortunately no one did.

"I'm amazed you spared Mack," Sarah remarked to Leon once they caught up to him.

"Believe me I thought about it. If Susie hadn't been with us I might well have killed him and he sure as hell deserved it. He was partly responsible for Jonas and a few of my old friends back there. But now I think about it, it's better this way, killing him would have been a little too quick. This way he gets a whole lot of time to think about his actions and what he's got to look forward to; such as life out here. For someone like him that's going to be hell on earth. If that's not justice I don't know what is."

Sarah could not have agreed more. She'd seen Mack's type before: the type that thought their age and status automatically gave them the right to demand respect from everyone else and then threw tantrums whenever they didn't get it. Most behaved like cheap bullies, spoiled brats or both and from what she'd seen Mack had been both. She couldn't see him lasting a day out in the wasteland.

Amata was staring at Leon partly in awe but mostly with worry. The last year had obviously not been good to him and the warrior leading the group forward was a hell of a lot different than the boy she'd grown up with. Plus he seemed to be very friendly with Sarah.

"You alright, Amata?" Amata was jerked back to reality by Susie who was looking at her in concern. So was her father, Christine and Mr Brotch.

Susie had joined the exodus in the end. She'd been on trade runs for the vault and knew full well what life was like on the outside. She'd all but disowned her father and brother. Despite her still caring about them she had been as disgusted by their actions as the others.

"I'm...fine."

"No you're not," Edwin Brotch wasn't at all fooled. "You're worried about Leon and that he might not forgive you; is that it?"

Amata knew there was no point in denying it and nodded in reply. "How can he forgive me? I drove him out to try and keep the vault together and what good did it do? The vault still falls apart and we have to be rescued by him _again._ I'm amazed he came back at all."

Alphonse was with that. "So am I. But we keep making the same mistake of underestimating him, Amata. He came back and he spared Allen Mack which I, for one, would not have done."

"Nor me," Christine agreed.

"I think we're doing it again right now," Brotch mused. "In spite of everything Leon is still...well Leon. He may be harder, meaner and tougher but it's still him inside. He never struck me as the grudging type. I think you're ok with him, you'll see."

Amata could only hope he was right as they walked on toward Megaton.

**Scout Vertibird over the Western Capital Wasteland**

On their journey down to Washington Dan had shown the Raven Rock footage to Jake and Yuna on the Scout Vertibird's onboard computer.

"Man, this guy is something else," Jake couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Well I wanted to warn you what you might be coming up against," Dan said cautiously.

"Coming up against? We wouldn't stand a chance!" Yuna looked on in horror at Leon's killing spree.

"Hopefully it won't come to fighting him," Kayla tried to brighten the road ahead. "He was flying high on pain, rage and adrenaline when he did this. Not to mention we gave him good reason to hate us."

"I'm guessing he still does, right?" Yuna wasn't that easily swayed.

"Very likely," Dan wasn't going to lie. "I still haven't figured out how we can approach him. Or even if there's a safe way to. Scared yet?"

"No," Yuna and Jake said together but it wasn't convincing.

Dan sighed. "So am I."

"We're almost at the drop zone," the pilot shouted up to Dan.

"OK, get us down as quick as you can. Best if we're not seen at all."

Dan had chosen the area near the Dunwich Building as his drop zone. Although there was no such thing as 'safe' in the Capital Wasteland generally the south was a lot safer than the north was. He'd have liked to have been closer to DC but he knew he couldn't risk it. One loose mouth about an Enclave Vertibird and word would soon reach the Citadel and the Brotherhood. That was something he didn't want to risk at this stage.

Luck, however, was not with Dan and his party that day. A short distance away, at the Rockland car tunnel, was a full blown Brotherhood outpost. They'd decided to maintain it as a storage bay and as a lookout since the assault on the satellite relay station the year before and now it was manned by several initiates, knights and one paladin.

It was one of the initiates, looking through some binoculars, who spotted the Vertibird first as it landed on the Dunwich Building's forecourt.

"Paladin Blaine, are we expecting reinforcements today?"

Blaine's eyes narrowed under his helmet. They certainly weren't. None of the Brotherhood's twelve captured Vertibirds were anywhere near this area as far as he knew. He took the binoculars off the initiate to have a look himself. It took him only ten seconds to see the E symbol on the side of the Vertibird.

"Enemy sighted! At arms!"

Dan's little party had finished getting off the Vertibird by now. Kayla had gone to scout the area whilst the others checked over their guns, pip-boys and other gear. They'd only just finished doing that when they saw Kayla running at full speed with blind panic back toward them.

"RUN! Get out of here now!"

Dan didn't know what was wrong but he knew better than to waste time arguing. "Come on!"

They ran around the side of building out of sight just before eight Brotherhood soldiers ran onto the forecourt from the east, firing laser rifles as they came. The Vertibird had lifted off by now and was turning around to try and escape to the north.

_Come on man, get out of there_! Dan mentally urged the pilot as he peered around the corner to watch. His heart sank through his stomach as he saw what one of the soldiers was hauling up to fire. The Vertibird had just completed its turn and was starting to pick up speed when the electric blast from the soldier's Tesla cannon seared straight into its side and through into the reactor, blowing it straight to hell.

Dan screwed his eyes shut in despair. The Brotherhood troops were jubilant.

"Great shot, you really wanted that Enclave bastard!"

"Damn straight I did," Knight Vasquez had been the one with the Tesla cannon. "Those scum killed half of my friends last year and they'll be paying off that debt in blood for as long as I breathe! Oh, sorry sir."

Paladin Blaine shrugged. "For what, Vasquez? I feel the same way. But enough celebration, there's more work to be done. Knight Williams, get back to the tunnel and get on that new radio we got last week. Tell the Citadel what just went down and get them to warn all the other outposts. If those murdering Enclave filth are planning anything at all we'll make sure it stops here."

"Sir!"

"Alright, the rest of you search the area, if they dropped any troops off we'll take them out too!"

_Oh hell. _On hearing that, Dan and the others shuffled down the wall of the building away slowly.

"Oh god, what do we do?"Yuna was having a panic attack before Kayla slammed her hand over her mouth to quiet her down.

"Keep quiet or we're joining him!"

Fortunately neither Kayla nor Dan was wearing Enclave power armour or uniform, they were all in leather armour, but they certainly didn't want to face a fired up squad of knights. This time, though, their luck held. The soldiers were fanning out and searching north toward the old picnic area leaving the way southeast open. They waited until the whole squad had dropped off the parking forecourt before sneaking their way out down the small ridge the other way toward Tenpenny Tower. After five minutes sneaking and running they finally came to rest on a ridge overlooking the tower and Warrington train yard.

"Great start to our mission, Dan!" Kayla fumed. They'd lost one of the only three Vertibirds left to them, worse still they now had no backup and were cut off completely from rescue.

"Sorry Kayla, but how was I to know the Brotherhood had bases out here?"

"At least we weren't seen," Jake tried to lift the very low mood.

Dan nodded. "Yeah and it doesn't alter the job we have to do. OK, everyone, guns out and pip boy scanners on just like we practiced, watch out for any red dots. You two are the best early warning we've got."

As he finished his encouraging speech to Yuna and Jake, Dan turned to a bleak gaze from Kayla. Both knew that he had just lied. The mission had been changed; they'd not anticipated being detected this early. Although the Brotherhood didn't know about their presence here they would wonder and they would suspect. Dan knew of the icy cunning of the Brotherhood, they were no fools and would at least heighten their security across the wasteland. Of course that meant their 'impossible' mission had just got a shade harder still.

**The Citadel**

"Elder Lyons!"

Elder Lyons and Scribe Rothchild looked up from their work on Liberty Prime to see their keeper of the scrolls and now new communications officer Scribe Jameson. Since the capture of Adams air force base they'd acquired a large amount of both handheld and heavy radio equipment and had wasted no time in using it.

"What's wrong?"

"A report from the Rockland outpost, Elder. They report shooting down an Enclave Vertibird."

Both men jumped to their feet with a start.

"Just _one _Vertibird? No more?" Rothchild asked.

"That's what they said. They're still searching the area now. They should give an update soon."

Lyons grimaced. "This isn't good news, Rothchild."

"No. But this doesn't make sense. If this were a new offensive they'd send more than just one Vertibird unless...ah of course." Rothchild thought for half a minute before he turned back to Jameson. "Alert Rivet City, the GNR garrison, Megaton and every outpost we have to be on the lookout for Enclave spies. Tell them to send word of anything unusual no matter how trivial it might seem."

"What reason could the Enclave have to return here to spy on us now? " Lyons mused.

"I don't know. We'll just have to hope they're careless and we capture them soon so we can get the answer to that directly from them."

**Vault 66**

The answers to everyone's questions, though no one knew it as yet, were to be found a few miles north of Baltimore Haven in the dark halls of Vault 66. On the surface and upper levels, where the stealthed spy probe was now returning to interface with the main computer, it would have seemed like a pristine ordinary vault. But the lower research levels... even Dante or Poe on their worst days would have found it difficult to actually describe the hell that had become. The residents were still in residence but suffice it to say their humanity wasn't anymore.

Poor unfortunate Abby Smith was about to find that out first hand as she opened her eyes to find herself stripped and tied down to a medical gurney. The sight above nearly stopped her heart cold. The gurney, and her, were positioned under what looked at first to be an industrial size Auto-Doc machine. However instead the worker arms did not have delicate surgical tools on them. One held a jackhammer, another a lethal looking electric drill, a surgical laser cutter on another, the next a blow torch welder and a ripper style chainsaw blade on the last.

Abby was so frozen in terror at the sight she didn't register the very heavy footsteps approaching her from the side until a needle was inserted into her neck. She didn't have the strength to scream at the horrific thing who'd injected her before she slipped unconscious again. This was probably for the best as the overhead machine powered up, lowered the ripper arm and then started slicing her arm off at the shoulder...


	4. Mishaps and suspicions

One review question first:

Arkbird7: I hadn't thought much about that until you brought it up but the answer to your first question is yes, probably Amata and it's touched on slightly in this part. It's a good point about the Outcasts too; you're right they certainly would go for that given the chance and that might be a good side story later on (and possibly the final end for Mack).

Sorry about the delay on this part, I had some time off but I got hooked on the new Dead Money DLC last week and just couldn't stop. Finally managed to unhook myself and write on with this part...

**Megaton**

When he'd first seen the group through his sniper scope, Stockholm had wondered if he'd drunk too much at Moriarty's while on his downtime. Seeing Leon and the Brotherhood snapped him out of that and he quickly shouted down warnings.

As Leon expected the gates opened to reveal Lucas Simms, Jericho, Walter, Lucy West, Doc Church and nearly the whole town facing them. Fortunately most were curious rather than hostile. The vault dwellers were more nervous than anything, especially on seeing the wastelanders packing better guns than they had.

"I know you said you were going home, Leon," Lucas broke the ice first. "But you didn't say anything about bringing the whole family along!"

Leon sighed. "Sorry Lucas, not my idea. I don't think we'll be staying too long, just until we figure out what to do next."  
"Fine," Lucas then turned back to the townspeople. "Alright, show's over so get back to work or whatever the hell you were doing."

Sarah brought out a portable radio. "I'll try and contact the Citadel, see if they can spare us any Vertibirds so we can move everyone around."

"Ok. I'll talk to Amata and the others while you do that."

Amata, for her part, had just finished reassuring her group. "Leon, can we talk?"

"Sure." Leon had some inkling of what she was about to say.

"I know what I said back in the vault but I really didn't plan out any of this and..."

"You think I did?" Leon broke in. "Not much different from when I came out the first time. At least we've got the Brotherhood backing us up. Just a question of where we're going to settle everyone."

"Rivet City could take some," Butch suggested.

"Good idea, speaking of good ideas...back in a second." Leon headed off toward Moira Brown's supply shop.

"Amata, wasn't it?" Amata suddenly found Sarah next to her. "While he's gone can we talk alone?"

Amata was feeling apprehensive about this but nodded and allowed Sarah to lead her up the opposite path to the gantry outside Leon's house. Sarah was feeling awkward at the same time but for different reasons.

"I don't exactly know how to ask this, Amata, but hopefully you'll have more luck than I've had the last few months. It's about Leon..."

Amata looked a little downcast. "You two are together?"

Sarah was confused at first before she realised and choked back a laugh. "Together? Oh no, we're not like _that._ He's a hell of a friend and a comrade in arms but that's it."

"Oh," Amata suddenly felt both relieved and a little silly. "Sorry I just...oh man!"

"Don't sweat it. You're not the first to think that, but it would never work between us the way things are right now. Both of us are married to our jobs in the Brotherhood more than anything and he's still carrying a torch for someone else. Care to take a guess who?"

Amata blushed as Sarah looked knowingly at her.

"Anyway I'm getting off track. As I was saying I'm getting worried about Leon. The last year hasn't been good for him and he's turning into a work and killaholic. Spends his days either repairing armour and weapons for us and killing every Raider and Super Mutant in the wasteland. It's getting to the point where he doesn't have a life at all."

"You really think I can help him?" Amata looked very doubtful after the way their meeting in the vault had gone down. "I drove him away! I'm probably the last thing he wants to see right now."

"Don't worry about..." Sarah was cut off in mid sentence by a loud BANG from the other end of town. "Oh hell don't tell me!"

"What was that?" Amata looked across to see smoke coming out of the supply shop.

"She's been at it again!"

Leon had come to the supply shop just in time to hear the small explosion from inside. Rolling his eyes he pulled open the door and stepped back to let out a vast cloud of smoke from inside along with the coughing and wheezing Moira Brown and her mercenary guard.

"Hi Moira, that new invention of yours on the fritz again?" Leon was trying hard to keep a straight face.

The merc wasn't so amused. "Christ, that's the third time in two weeks! Can't you take things slower and more careful? Much more of this shit and I'm asking for hazard pay!"

Moira sighed. "Well I'm sorry. But science experiments do have problems now and again. I guess Nuka-Cola isn't meant for powering a generator. I'll just have to try something else."

"Whatever you do be more careful, Moira," Leon warned seriously. "Or one of these days your tinkering is going to blow you sky high, along with your shop and half Megaton with it!"

"Ok, I get the hint," Moira sighed. "Anyway what can I do for you today?"

"Well, some of my old friends just came out of Vault 101 and I think they might need some help..."

Ten minutes later he was on his way back to the assembled vault dwellers who were spreading out in the main square, some chatting with townspeople but most were staring nervously at the atom bomb in the centre of town.

"Relax, it's dead," Leon had assured them. "I disarmed it myself. Anyway pass these out."

Alphonse raised his eyebrows when he saw the title of the book Leon was handing out. "What's this? The Wasteland Survival Guide?"

"Should cover the basics of things out here for now; sorry about the writing style; Moira gets too enthusiastic as you just saw with that explosion!" Leon then let out a huge yawn. He'd been on his feet for 20 of the last 24 hours and it was starting to catch up with him. "If anyone needs me I'll be at home. It's the one over the tavern."

Sarah and the Pride hadn't been awake as long as Leon had. Kodiak helped Leon up the path to his front door. "Go get some sleep; we'll take care of things here."

**Robco Facility**

Dan and his friends' luck had improved a little since the disastrous start to their mission as they'd made it past Tenpenny Tower and away from the Brotherhood. A radscorpion or mole rat aside their trip so far had been trouble free and they'd met up with a trade caravan on the facility's forecourt, namely the weapons caravan of Lucky Harith. Dan had known him from awhile back during his tenure as a wasteland scout. Harith knew Dan as a freelance mercenary and had traded with him on occasion.

"Dan! It's been a long time, you been well?"

"Way too long, Lucky. I've been away but it's been good, kind of. How's life been back here?"

"Better than I've ever known before! We've got fresh water caravans going all over the wasteland, there's a lot less Super Mutants than there used to be, lot less Raiders too; a lot of them have quit trying to raid the big caravans and they've put down a settlement in what was left of Paradise Falls. Best of all from what I can tell the Enclave's finished. We haven't seen anything of them for a year."

"No, neither have I," Dan grinned and smoothly lied. "Some vault hero did all that, didn't he? Three Dog talked about him all the time."

"Sure did. I've actually done a lot of discount business with him. Least I can do after he invests in all the caravans and then frees us all from those Enclave bastards."

"Do you know where I could find him?" Dan asked whilst suppressing his discomfort.

Harith snorted. "What's he done to deserve you?"

"Cute, but it's not really me that needs him. It's my friends here. Their settlement up north is in trouble." Dan nodded at Jake and Yuna.

"Well you could try Megaton; word is he's supposed to live there when he's not with the Brotherhood in the Citadel. Beyond that he could be anywhere. He's still the Lone Wanderer after all."

"Ok, we'll try there first. Thanks Lucky."

"Word of advice: stay clear of Fairfax. That place is still Raider turf. The Outcasts keep throwing them out but they're soon back and set up again. Same with that old drive in cinema. Wish I could go with you but I've got to deliver this shipment to Tenpenny Tower; the new owner Roy isn't a patient sort of guy."

"It's ok. We'll probably move faster on our own anyway. Thanks Lucky, take care of yourself."

As they parted ways with Lucky's caravan Yuna couldn't help but notice that Dan and Kayla looked real uncomfortable.

"You guys really weren't liked around here, were you?"

Dan nodded. "The truth hurts, Yuna, but yeah you're right. Worst thing is that we deserved most of it too. I still can't believe the same mistakes happened all over again!"

Dan and Kayla had been teenagers when they'd been evacuated along with their Enclave serving families from Navarro twenty years ago. Just like their parents they'd joined the Enclave forces as soon as they were old enough. They'd hoped to play their part and restore America to its former glory, only to have their hopes dashed and their trust betrayed at every turn. Both had read the records of what had happened out on the oil rig and Navarro base and had expected the leadership to have done the same and change tactics to make sure it never happened again.

That had been too much to ask for. Autumn and the Enclave military council seemed to have learned nothing from the defeat in California, seemingly refusing to accept the twin realities that they had been defeated and that their government just wasn't wanted by anyone in the western wastelands. But then again, Dan thought, why the hell was he surprised? Autumn and the others suffered the same major fault: they were a bunch of arrogant stupid old men who'd been raised to believe that they had the divine right to rule America and roll over everyone in their way. Autumn had tried the same tactics in the Capital Wasteland and got the same results; only this time it was a blow they were not going to recover from.

"Dan..." Kayla shot a worried look at him as they walked.

"Don't worry about it, Kayla. We can't change the past. Let's just hope we can change the future."

**Megaton**

The vault dwellers had settled down inside Megaton's walls as they waited for Vertibirds to transport them further on. After some discussion between Amata, Alphonse, Butch and Sarah they'd decided that most of the group would try and settle in Greyditch. It hadn't been resettled since the Fire Ants had been cleaned out and seemed to be a good defensible settlement. The Brotherhood had been setting up more and more outposts as they cleaned out the Super Mutants and this would just be an extension of that. Amata and most of the vault dwellers had settled down in the Brass Lantern to rest, recover and read the survival guides Leon had given them.

Amata, meanwhile, was blushing beat red. After her talk with Sarah she'd decided to go and try to talk to Leon before she lost the courage to. She'd come straight through his front door to find him sleeping in a chair half naked! He'd been so tired that he'd only just managed to decouple himself from his power armour before passing out into the chair in just his underpants, leaving Amata with one hell of a view. She'd fled out of the house and had spent the last few hours trying to get the image out of her head. No such luck.

Sarah had a real hard time stopping herself laughing when she found out. "You can always try again, who knows? Maybe next time you'll catch him without his underwear!"

"Oh, just kill me now!" Amata wished she could just curl up and die.

"Actually why don't we try again now?" Sarah asked.

"Now? It's only been 3 hours since we got here, he won't be up yet."  
"Actually he might, sometimes he only sleeps for a few hours when he's feeling real active and other times he sleeps for half a day. I'll look in first this time unless you want another free peep show?"

Amata sighed as knew she'd never live this down. "Fine, let's do it before I lose my nerve."

On reaching his house Sarah checked as promised only to find the chair and the house empty. "Oh no, don't tell me..."

She came out to meet Amata. "I'm afraid he's gone."

"Gone?" Amata's face took on a worried look.

"Yeah, he's gone wandering again. Guess he wanted some time alone to think. Don't worry; we'll catch up with him later. He can handle pretty much anything out there."

In fact they'd only missed him by 5 minutes. Leon had wanted some time alone to think and blow off some steam. He'd ended up with much more than he'd bargained for from Vault 101 and he didn't feel emotionally ready for a full talk with Amata. Truth was his feelings were in turmoil. While he was thrilled to see her again part of him was still angry for her exiling him from the vault, even though it was with some good reason. He'd slept only 2 ½ hours, changed to his new Mk 2 Recon Armour and had slipped out for a short walk. He was now heading southwest toward Fairfax trying to think things out while keeping alert for threats at the same time.

_On second thought_...he then changed his mind and started due south. He wasn't in the mood for a pitched battle in Fairfax, either with the Raiders or the Outcasts. But fate had obviously decided otherwise as he heard gunfire ahead. He activated the stealth mode on his armour and looked down over the ridge to see 4 people in leather armour besieged behind a rocky outcrop by 6 Talon Company mercs. On seeing this Leon's mood got considerably worse. Talons were among his chief hates and this lot were about to have the worst day of their lives...

Down below Dan and his group thought they were making their last stand. Cornered, outnumbered and outgunned all they could do was cower behind their rock cover and take pot shots out. Jake and Yuna's 10mm pistols and Dan and Kayla's American assault rifles didn't compare with the laser rifles and Chinese AK assault rifles the Talons had.

"Yuna, you and Jake get ready to run, we'll cover you."

Yuna's eyes went wide on hearing Dan's order. "Run? We can't just leave you here!"

"Look, don't argue! You've got to..."

"DAN!" Kayla barely had time to shout before the frag grenade sailed over the rock and landed almost on top of Yuna. Moving like wind Jake lunged forward and knocked Yuna out of the way just in time to catch the explosion himself, taking several fragments in the stomach and turning his lower abdomen into a scarlet mass.

"JAKE!" Yuna screamed as she tried to tend to him. The grenade hadn't killed him but it had knocked Kayla and Dan off balance long enough for the Talons to come around their cover and soon they were facing all six of their guns.

"Well ain't this sweet?" the black haired Caucasian leader of the Talons sneered at them. "We get a few more guns and two girls thrown in for some fun tonig...what?"

He barely had time to notice the grenade sailing past his face before it went off covering him and his friends in searing white hot plasma. 5.56mm rounds flew into them before they could recover as Leon came out of stealth mode blazing away with his Xuanlong assault rifle. It was less of a battle and more of a slaughter as Leon had caught them in a kill box and he didn't waste the opportunity. Less than two minutes later they were almost all dead as he pumped shots through their heads and throats. Only the leader was left trying to stagger to his feet with heavy plasma burns to the left side of his face and two bullets through his gut. He wasn't fast enough. Leon kicked his gun away and then booted him flat on his back as he snapped in a new clip.

"Wait! You're no Raider; you wouldn't shoot an unarmed man?"

Leon scoffed in contempt. He had no doubt this lump of shit would if the roles had been reversed. "An unarmed man no. But you Talons aren't men. You're thieves, rapists, cowards and killers so basically you're fucked!" Leon emptied the whole clip into the Talon. It was overkill but it sated the burning hatred he felt for Talon Company. A few months back he'd got so fed up with them still trying to claim the contract on his head that he'd staged a one man assault on their base at Fort Bannister and turned it into a slaughterhouse. Obviously that and the death of Commander Jabsco at his hand just hadn't been lesson enough. He made a mental note to raise the point with Sarah and Elder Lyons when he got back to the Citadel. If Leon got his way Talon Company would soon follow in the Enclave's footsteps.

Dan watched the slaughter in a mix of amazement and delight. He didn't watch it for long though as he had a heavily wounded and unconscious Jake on his hands. Several fragments had caught him in the stomach and he was leaking blood heavily. Yuna was almost catatonic, her friend was hurt because of her and she'd never seen so much blood. Dan quickly injected Jake with a stimpak to stabilise him but he knew that Jake's torso was hard hit and he was going to need proper medical attention.

"How is he? Can he be moved?" Dan looked up to see their ninja like rescuer approaching as he slung his rifle over his back.

"I think so; I've just given him a stimpak..."

Leon tossed Dan another. "Use that one too; grenade wounds are a bitch to heal. We need to get him to Megaton and Doc Church."

"We can't thank you enough," Kayla gushed as Dan tended to Jake. "If you hadn't come along when you did..."

"Don't worry about it, I despise Talons and I'd never leave anyone to them. Go help yourself to their guns; you'll have to give us some cover while we lift your friend to town."

"Ok, sure. Come on Yuna let's grab their guns and their armour. It's all better than ours."

"Right," Yuna was overcome with relief and wasted no time in grabbing a Chinese assault rifle.

Leon gave Jake a quick check of his own; James had taught him a lot when it came to medical science. "He'll be ok for now. Think you can lift him with me? We need to keep him as level as best we can when we do and we don't have a stretcher."  
Dan nodded. "No problem, I can handle it. Is Megaton close to here? We were heading that way anyway before those bastards jumped us."

"It's only a few minutes that way. Let's get started, sooner we get out of the open the better."

"Thanks. I don't know who you are but you're a real lifesaver!" Dan still had no idea who he was talking to. He would probably have fainted on the spot if he had.

"Forget it; we'll talk later once we get some help for your friend. Come on, let's get on the move."

Leon got behind Jake's head and lifted him from that side whilst Dan held him by the legs. As he lifted Jake Leon couldn't help but notice what was on his left arm. _What the hell...A pip-boy 3000? He's a vault dweller? _He quickly stole a glance at the girls and saw that Yuna was identically equipped.

Leon didn't quite know what to make of this. Those wrist computers might have been the reason the Talons had attacked them, mistaking Jake for him. But where had these two actually come from? Leon had explored all of the known local vaults. Of all those only 101 had still been inhabited by civilised vault dwellers and that meant they had to be from elsewhere. They seemed decent enough people but, as experience had taught him, appearances could mean little. Until he knew more about their intent and motivations he wouldn't give out too much information...

**Brass Lantern**

Sarah and Amata had rejoined their friends in the diner when Lucas came in with a worried expression and a message from the Citadel over the radio.

"An Enclave Vertibird?" Sarah's eyes narrowed as soon as she heard this.

Lucas nodded. "That's what the message said."

"God, Leon's going to freak when he hears this."

"Hears what?" Amata was in the middle of bringing a meal back to the table.

"A suspected Enclave return, Amata. To cut a long story short they're the ones who killed Leon's father."

"Oh my God!"

"Yeah, any mention of them will turn Leon's blood to liquid fire. He did a real number on them last year and kicked them clean out of the Capital Wasteland. That's what he's most famous for."

Amata scowled. "And now they're back? What for?"

Sarah shook her head in reply. "I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see. Vargas, can you keep an eye on the gate? Send Leon to me the minute he gets back. Best if we tell him up front."

"You got it."

However Vargas had no sooner gone out the door when he rushed back in. "He's back now and he's got company."

Sarah hurried outside to see Leon and Dan carrying Jake into Doc Church's surgery hut with Yuna and Kayla worriedly following behind.

Vargas quickly went over and into the surgery just in time to see Leon throw a bag of caps at Doc Church.

"...just do whatever it takes to fix him up, Doc."

Doc Church couldn't believe his luck at being tossed 500 caps straight up. "Sure!"

Dan couldn't believe this either. "Man, you're a double lifesaver. Say I never caught your name back there...oh." Dan had caught sight of Vargas at the door.

"Sorry to intrude but Sarah wants to talk to you. It's urgent."

Leon nodded. "Got it, I'll catch up with you later, see how he's doing."

Both went out leaving an amazed Dan behind. _Man, what a day! Shot at by the Brotherhood, nearly killed by Talon Company and then __**saved **__by one of the Brotherhood. As weird days go this tops them all!_

Over at the Brass Lantern Leon was understandably shocked by Sarah's news. But then a thought stuck him. "Where did they shoot this Vertibird down?"

"Over at the Dunwich building, why?"

"I just rescued four people from Talon Company. They're dressed like common mercs but two of them are wearing these!" Leon pointed to his pip-boy.

"They're from a vault?" Amata was stunned as well. "I thought you said ours was the only operational vault in this area!"

"It is, which means they're not from around here, and that makes me wonder where they got those pip-boys and _how _they got to the Capital Wasteland in the first place."

Sarah could see what he was getting at. It wasn't inconceivable that these four had been on that Vertibird before it was shot down. "Leon, we need to play this slowly and carefully. If these people are with the Enclave we need to find out what they're after and if they're going to make another try for the wasteland."  
"No problem for now, Sarah. But don't take too long," Leon's face had crunched into a glare under his mask. "If they are Enclave then we'll find out where they're based and I'll send their people home...in body bags!"


	5. Bad day to worse for everyone

Damn, the writer's block on this part nearly killed me but I am not giving up. Sorry for the wait folks, can the excuses and on with the fic!

**Leon's home**

Leon had gone straight back home after the meeting in the Brass Lantern. He'd agreed to let Sarah and the Pride keep an eye on their guests for now and, given that Jake wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile, it wouldn't be hard to do. It was now late afternoon and the Brotherhood had finished shipping out the last of the vault dwellers to their final destination of Greyditch to start resettling there.

There were only two left behind. Stanley was one; Walter had taken him under his wing in working on the town's water systems. He'd taken Mr Burke's old house in the town square as Leon had ensured there was no likelihood of him ever returning. After learning that Burke had been responsible for the Talon contract on his head Leon had responded in kind, seeking out the Regulators and putting a death mark on Burke. No one had seen or heard from him since, meaning he was now on the run or dead. Leon didn't care which. With his patron Tenpenny dead and the ghouls in residence at Tenpenny Tower Burke had lost everything and was out of business for good in the Capital Wasteland.

He turned on GNR hoping to catch the news before he got a little more sleep. He was in luck and in for a little shock.

_It's news time again children and you are going to LOVE this! Okay so you remember me telling you about James and our hero from Vault 101, right? You also remember that Mr 101 went home once and came out again? Well...guess what? He went home yet again and this time he took along his new family and our other protectors the Brotherhood of Steel along for the ride. But that's not all, he then came out again and brought his old family from the vault out with him! I know, it sounds like I've been hitting the Jet and mixing it with Psycho but it's true. Don't ask me why they all dumped the vault all of a sudden; maybe somebody down there got a real bad case of flatulence and they needed some fresh air? Well whatever the reason make our new residents feel at home, kiddies. They are friends of our vault defender so least we can do is help his friends, right? Oh and if any of you Talons, Enclave or anyone going after our hero is thinking of using them to get to him you can switch that light bulb right off. The Brotherhood is already watching them like hawks, capisce? And now some new music to welcome vault 101's people to the wasteland, this is the Inkspots with 'If I didn't care'._

"Hi Amata," Despite being deep in thought as he'd finished changing clothes Leon hadn't missed the sound of his front door opening and he'd been expecting this visit from the second vault dweller left in Megaton.

"Leon..." Amata had used all of her courage just to approach the Lone Wanderer and now she could barely speak to him.

Luckily for her Leon picked this up fast. "Amata, it's ok. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" Amata was amazed and relieved all at once.

"Not anymore. I was. Last year I was real mad at you after I left the vault again and seeing you yesterday brought all that back in a rush. But no, I'm not mad at you now. "

Amata just managed to keep her legs going out from under her in relief. "Thank you, I never thought you'd..."

"I've had a long time to get over it. Not to mention I've had a lot of other stuff to deal with and hey are you ok?"

Amata had collapsed onto the stairs and was quietly sobbing. "I just wasn't thinking straight back in the vault. I was just so mad with Mack and I wanted to hurt him so bad but now that I'm up here...what do I do now? How the hell am I going to keep everyone alive and find a new home and..."

Leon understood all too well. The reality of Amata's decision to leave the vault had only just sunk in along with the fact that she didn't have a plan for the future given that she'd stayed in the vault for the last year. He'd had a lot of the same when he'd escaped but at the time Leon had a purpose: finding his father. This had partly helped him to find his feet and keep going rather than give in to despair. Amata had no driving purpose and, on top of that, she had the population of Vault 101 to look after now.

"Amata!" Leon ran over and pulled her up into a hug. "Take it easy, it's not like you to crack like this. I survived out here, Butch and Susie have and so can you!"

"It's not that simple, Leon. You've been up here for a year, you know how to survive and what to do and I don't!"

"Then you just take your time and learn," Leon calmly reasoned as he held her. "You've got a lot more going for you than I did when I first came out here. You're not alone for one thing, you've got all your friends from the vault and your dad and you've got the Brotherhood helping you and finding you a place to live. I had none of that!"

Amata seemed to calm down after that. The combination of Leon's words and being held by him made her feel safe and protected. She was starting to wish this could last forever.

"Leon, I'm sorry. I must sound so pitiful."

"Don't do that either," Leon chided her. "Since when did putting yourself down do much of anything?"

"I know. I wish I could just take back the last year. I should never have sent you away, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Leon was struggling to hold himself together now as he really liked the feel of her against him. "You were the only thing I regretted leaving behind."

"You really mean that?"

"Do you have to ask?"

On hearing that Amata smiled for the first time since leaving the vault. Leon held her for 2 more minutes before releasing her.

"You'd better go; your dad and the last Vertibird to Grayditch are waiting on you."

Amata nodded reluctantly. "Will you...?"

"I'll drop in and see how you're getting on. Don't worry so much. Now get going, I'll see you tomorrow."

**Megaton Infirmary**

Sarah, meanwhile, had gone to the infirmary hoping to have a chat with the mysterious group that Leon had saved. She got more lucky than she thought. Dan and Kayla had gone up to Moira's supply shop to stock up on gear which left Yuna and Jake with Doc Church in the infirmary. Thinking quickly Sarah tossed 100 caps at Doc Church.

"Can you step out for awhile, Doc? As long as your patient is all right that is."

Doc Church shrugged. "Yeah he'll be fine. It looked a lot worse than it was but I still have to...oh."

Sarah was looking hard at the doc and he suddenly got the hint.

"I'll head for Moriarty's and be back in an hour."

Sarah walked over to Yuna and the now fully conscious Jake. "Are you two recovering ok? You've had one hell of a day from what I've been told. I'm Sentinel Sarah Lyons from the Brotherhood of Steel."

"Oh...hi," Yuna managed to get out after a noticeable pause which didn't escape Sarah's attention. She'd rattled Yuna and she knew it. Jake also looked more uncomfortable and Sarah was sure that it wasn't just pain. She knew now that she'd been right in seeing these two as a 'weak link' and decided to press on and see how much she could get here.

"I've just been talking with the Knight Commander who rescued you. He said he found you out near Fairfax. I can see he was right about the technology you're wearing too..." Sarah's tone had become a little harder as she said this.

Jake and Yuna's nerves jumped again as they realised their pip-boys wouldn't be a common sight out in the wastelands.

"...and that makes me wonder just where you're actually from. To cut a long story short we helped evacuate Vault 101 recently, which was the _only _inhabited vault in this area, and you certainly weren't among those people were you? I'd think I'd have remembered."

Jake swallowed hard and Yuna suddenly seemed to find her feet more fascinating than anything else.

"By the way, to change the subject completely, we also shot down a Vertibird earlier today. It belonged to the Enclave who are mortal enemies of the Brotherhood and the wasteland. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Sarah then leaned forward and her tone turned ice cold. "And think real hard before you lie to me. If word got out that you have anything to do with the Enclave...let's just say your life expectancy would be down to a few minutes, tops."

"Ok, ok you win!" After two near death experiences and nearly losing Jake, Yuna wasn't up for withstanding an interrogation.

"We were on that Vertibird before you shot it down," Jake sighed in defeat.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so where are you from? You certainly don't look like the murdering Enclave type."

"Baltimore Haven, it's a big settlement north of here in..."

"Yeah, in Baltimore I figured that out myself," Sarah cut in. "There must be a vault up there too if you've got those pip-boys right?"

Yuna nodded. "Vault 99, it's been our home for all our lives."

"Until now, obviously. So what's changed and what are you doing down here and coming in on an Enclave vehicle?"

"They came to us about a year ago..."

Yuna told Sarah everything from the Enclave scout forces' arrival to the attacks on their settlement and their ill fated search for the Lone Wanderer. It hadn't exactly been what Sarah had been expecting.

"Well I don't know what to make of this yet. Let's say I don't disbelieve you but this is the Enclave we're dealing with here so I can't trust this too far." Sarah got up and headed for the door. "You can stay here for now while your friend heals up. Don't try running, you won't get far. If my squad doesn't get you the man you're looking for certainly will."

Sarah went out to meet up with Vargas outside. "Get the rest of the squad together. We need to find the other two."

Vargas nodded. "Last we heard they were at the supply shop."

Five minutes later Dan and Kayla stepped out of Moira Brown's supply shop after restocking their ammo and stimpaks and headed up toward the water plant around the town to walk back to the surgery.

"Man, what a day!" Dan sighed.

"You're telling me! We nearly get killed twice, Jake gets crippled and we're still no closer to finding you know who or even a clue as to where he is now," Kayla sounded just as depressed. "Where do we go from here?"

"We're going to be here at least a day getting Jake back on his feet so we might as well see if they've got anywhere to stay tonight..."  
"No need, there's a cosy cell waiting for you at the Citadel courtesy of us!"

Both were jerked out of their conversation to see Sarah, Vargas and Kodiak pointing their laser rifles straight at them. They backed up a couple of steps but they didn't get far.

"Don't bother." Tristan, Dusk and Glade had come up from behind the water plant and boxed them in.

If looks could kill Sarah would have been responsible for Dan and Kayla's instant deaths. "I didn't think you Enclave types would be stupid enough to show your faces here again after what Leon did at Adams."

_Shit...we're done. _Boxed in, outnumbered and outgunned Dan didn't even think of trying to fight and just raised his hands in surrender with Kayla following suit. "How did you make us?"

Tristan chuckled. "We didn't. It was your young friends that gave you away. Up until this morning there was only one person in the whole wasteland with a pip-boy 3000. Two more strangers turning up with those after a Vertibird is seen and shot down? I don't believe in coincidences, do you?"

Sarah turned to Kodiak. "Get on the radio to the Citadel and have them get another Vertibird out here. We've got two guests coming in for interrogation."

"Wait, what about Jake and Yuna?" Kayla asked in concern. "We're the only friends they've got out here and..."

Vargas grunted. "With friends like you who needs enemies? Don't worry; they'll be staying here while we keep an eye on them. Unlike you we're not butchers. Now move it unless you want a trip to hell instead!"

Cloaked in their own despair Dan and Kayla were frogmarched out of Megaton to await a Brotherhood Vertibird and then transport on to the Citadel itself.

**The Citadel- next morning**

"Sarah!"

Sarah suppressed a grin at the sound of Leon's angry voice heading her way as she sat in the meeting room of the Citadel.

"Something wrong, Leon?"

"Something? I get woken up at 6am and then dragged out here with no explanation at all. There had better be a good reason for this!"

"In a minute you can decide for yourself if the reason is good enough or not," Scribe Rothchild and Elder Lyons had entered the room behind Leon. It had been Rothchild that had spoken. "We consider this highly important."

Sarah nodded. "The people you rescued yesterday were Enclave, Leon. Well two of them are; the younger two claim to be vault dwellers from Vault 99 in Baltimore believe it or not."  
"Lucky for them I didn't know that yesterday," Leon growled angrily.

"Yes quite," Elder Lyons broke in. "But that isn't the half of it. The reason they came here defies all belief. Here, read it for yourself. This is the summary of their interrogation last night."

Leon took the paper from him and read through it quickly. "This is a joke. It has to be! The Enclave asking _me _for help? Didn't they learn anything from the last time they tried that?"

"They know what happened at Raven Rock and Adams, Leon," Sarah told him. "Believe me I was just as sceptical as well. But those 2 kids they brought with them seem very sincere and from what Tristan told me so were our prisoners."

"He actually believed this fantastic tale of theirs?" Leon raised his eyebrows as he said this.

"No, not so much as that," Rothchild replied. "But in his words if they were lying then they are the best liars he's ever known. He thinks they're telling the truth or to put it another way, he thinks they believe they're telling us the truth as they know it."

"Which raises even more questions," Lyons sounded ever more worried. "An enemy that confounds the Enclave? That can attack a heavily defended settlement with impunity? The thought is bone chilling."

Leon shared that thought but still wasn't sold. "This still might be the Enclave's doing. What if they're just playing the settlers and their own people by staging these attacks? One of them said it himself their unit's all the ones Eden and Autumn didn't like. We know what the Enclave's like; they'd eat their own without a second thought!"

Rothchild nodded in agreement. "Anything is possible including that. I'm not saying we believe it, Leon. But, given the implications, I don't think we can afford to dismiss it."

Sarah was with that but didn't like where this was going. "So what do we do? Are we just going to start trusting them all of a sudden? The thought of that turns my stomach!"

"It turns mine as well, Sarah," Lyons agreed. "The Enclave is the most evil and corrupt force the wasteland has ever produced. Its crimes are without number and its duplicity is without end. Nonetheless I don't think we can judge everyone in the Enclave for the actions of its leadership and its other officers. If that principle held up I would be on trial now for the Outcasts and their actions, not to mention the war against the NCR in the west."

Leon sighed. "Well there's only one way to find out. I'm going to have to go up there. God, working with the Enclave, fate's got a sick sense of humour."

"Yes indeed." Rothchild rose to his feet. "I'll arrange transport for you to leave tomorrow. Resolve this situation however you see fit, Leon. If the Enclave have played us false...well I think you know how to deal with them."

"Gladly," Leon gave a sly grin at that.

"I'm going with you," Sarah said adamantly. "No way are you going alone into this."

"No problem. The problem I've got now is Amata. I promised to help her settle down and now I've got to go flying off to Baltimore."

"Then I'd better come to Grayditch with you and give you a little support, don't you think?"

"Fine. I am not looking forward to this..."

**Grayditch**

Leon was proved right. Amata and all the vault dwellers were dismayed at the news when they'd gathered them all together. Half of them were already in shock from the state of the settlement they were settling in, not that they got much sympathy from Leon when he heard this from Amata.

"What the hell did you expect? A whole new vault? It's called the wasteland for a reason, Amata. Most people have got less than this."

"I think we kind of knew that already. We just didn't expect you to leave us so soon," Herman Gomez said.

Leon tried to put some sympathy into his voice. "Me not being here is going to happen a lot. I'm a Brotherhood soldier; I have to go where I'm sent and right now the Elder wants me up in Baltimore. I can't just blow that off to help you."

"When do you have to go?" Alphonse was somewhat impressed by Leon's sense of responsibility.

"Tomorrow morning. I might not be back for sometime either. You won't be alone out here; the Brotherhood's guaranteed this place will be protected. Outside of Rivet City and the Citadel this is probably the safest place around now."

Grayditch was like a small fortress with the captured Enclave metal shields, sentry bots and guns that the Brotherhood had set up around the choke points on the streets and the subway entrance. Better yet there would no more fire ant problems since Doc Lesko (by some miracle) had found a cure for the brood underneath a few months back. He'd finished his work and had moved on. But Leon was about to get another unwanted twist.

"You're going up north to a big settlement?" Amata suddenly asked.

"That's what I've been told, why?" Leon replied opening up a bottle of purified water.

"Then I've got to go with you!"

Leon spewed half of his water back out on hearing that. "What? Have you lost your mind? I could be walking into a trap up there and might have to fight my way out of it. I told you to get used to the wasteland not stick your neck into a buzz saw!"

Alphonse was just as fraught. "He's right, Amata. Besides you're still Overseer, we all need you here."

"I can't do this, Daddy. Not yet anyway. All I know is how to run a vault, that's no good now. I need to know how they do things up here."

"You could have done that at Megaton or any other settlement around here," Leon argued. "And I hate to say this Amata but you're no fighter. You don't know what it's like having bullets, lasers and plasma thrown at you."

"Neither did you last year," Amata's tone was set and firm. "I need to learn to do this sometime. The safest place to do that in this whole wasteland is next to you."

"Leon, can I talk to you for a second?" Sarah broke in with a sharp look.

"Sure."

Sarah pulled him away from the group around a corner. "Leon, let her come."

"What the hell... is everyone losing their head today or is it just me? If your dad or Rothchild finds out about this..."

"I'll handle that. She wants to make the last year up to you, Leon. I get the feeling that's not all she wants either," Sarah looked at Leon knowingly.

Leon knew full well what she was trying to do but was having none of it. "Yeah? And what if she takes a bullet through the head, blown up by a rocket or fuck knows what else? What do I say to her dad? To everyone else around here?"

"Leon."

Both turned around to see Alphonse looking haggard and defeated. "I can't talk her out of this no matter what I try. There's too much of her mother in her."

Sarah seized on that. "See? We can't avoid this, Leon. She'll never forgive us if we don't take her."

"God, doesn't she get it? This isn't a walk in the park and home again. We could all get killed on this!"

"I tried that too," Alphonse sighed. "Much as I hate to admit it I think your friend is right Leon. The only way to placate her this time is to let her do this, even though my every instinct is screaming at me not to."

"Tell me about it," Leon felt exactly the same way.

"Please look after my daughter; she's the light of my life and all I've got left."

"I promise. I'll take every shot for her if it comes to that." Leon had never sounded more serious.

"Thank you. I owe you a lot of apologies, Leon. You _and_ your father. I badly misjudged both of you."

Leon shook his head. "I misjudged you as well. You really did care back then even if you did lose control and now I know you're nothing like Mack. Can you take care of things here while we're away?"

"Consider it done."

Five minutes later Leon, Sarah and Amata were on a Vertibird back to the Citadel after a very harsh warning from Leon.

"If you're coming you follow our lead and if we get into shooting you get down and you stay down, you got that?"

Amata could do nothing but agree. Leon stomped off the aircraft straight down to the Forge when they got back to prep their armour and weapons for tomorrow and, with the mood he was in now, he sure as hell hoped everything was set up and ready.

**Citadel Prison Cells**

Dan and Kayla had spent a very restless night in the basement prison wing of the Citadel. Aside from their interrogation at the hands of Sarah and Paladin Tristan, they'd not seen anyone since they'd been slung into the cell the day before. Although they had little doubts about their own future other questions were gnawing at them all the time. What was going to happen to Jake and Yuna now they were separated? Or to Baltimore Haven and the friends they'd left behind there? If the Brotherhood was in a vengeful mood Dan didn't give two caps for their chances.

"Didn't think I'd go out by Brotherhood firing squad," Kayla finally spoke up.

"Me neither. I just hope that..."

Dan was cut off by the sound of their cell door being unlocked and opened to reveal three knights.

"Alright, outside."

"Where are you taking us?" Dan asked fearfully.

"You'll find out. Now move!"  
Both were escorted up to the courtyard where, to their surprise, it wasn't a firing squad waiting but a powered up Vertibird. An even bigger shock was waiting for them when they got aboard, namely Jake and Yuna.

"Dan! Oh man are you ok?" a fully healed but worried sick Jake asked. "We thought they'd kill us all for sure!"

"We're ok. They slammed us in a cell but didn't do much else. How are you? All fixed up I see."

"Yeah, the clinic let me out this morning only we got grabbed by those steelmen and flown here."

"Better sit down and buckle up," Sarah had entered the Vertibird behind them.

Amata followed her in. She was now geared up in standard Recon Armour and was sporting a laser rifle. Bringing up the rear was Leon in his Mk2 Recon Armour. Once he was on he closed up the ramp, signalled the pilot to take off, turned to face their 'guests' and pulled off his mask...and nearly gave them all heart attacks as the reality sank in. Not only had they been rescued by the Brotherhood but by the very man they'd come looking for. Two things tempered their relief though. They were still technically prisoners for one thing and for another Leon looked as cold as ice.

"OK then, let's get things straight. I might have agreed to come out and help but there are rules I've got and they aren't negotiable."

Dan's heart was racing as he realised things might be going better than he'd ever hoped. "No problem."

Leon snorted. "That remains to be seen. Rule no 1: I'm doing this for the Brotherhood and this settlement in Baltimore we're going to, NOT for you and your Enclave. I'll deal with you one way or the other at the end depending on how it turns out."

"Ok and number 2?"

"Rule no 2: This gets done my way or not at all. I might be helping you but I'm sure as hell not working for you. Same goes for Sarah and Amata. And most importantly of all Rule no 3: If this is a setup..." he placed his right thumb and forefinger half an inch apart. "...Or I have this much reason to suspect that it is then you get a firsthand look of what I did to Raven Rock and Adams airbase. It'll be the last thing you ever see! Am I coming in clear enough?"

Dan swallowed hard. "As ice."

"Good. Enjoy the flight."


	6. Trials and Revelations

Wow, this part was hard work. Ok, reviews and answers first:

**DeathscytheVII: **Nice to know I can attract fans from both sides so to speak as I'm certainly not an Enclave sympathiser. I got the idea of Dan and this Remnant faction from Arcade Gannon and his old remnants in New Vegas. As for the LW, I like to try and make him as human as anyone and not the uberkiller god the game makes him out to be.

**Crazyguy223: **Nice ideas though it may be a few parts before I have to think about the endgame for the Enclave Remnants.

**Alavon: **Thanks though I never thought of Alphonse as a favourite character yet!

**MadCapMunchkin: **I was wondering if anyone would spot that in the dialogue! Just couldn't resist using and modifying that although Tristan isn't as evil or lethal as a you know what from that series! Lol. Keep writing btw I can't get enough of your fic.

Thanks for the reviews and favourites everyone! Here's part 6:

**Baltimore Haven**

Major Houser was beyond worried sick. Although it had only been 2 days since Dan and his party had left they'd received no word back and their Vertibird hadn't returned either. To make matters worse the settlement was now under sustained assault from one of the larger nihilistic Raider gangs: the Red Blades; so named for their tendency to gut their victims with the machetes and short swords they favoured. They'd made five major assaults on the settlement wall in the last couple of days, all without doing much except blasting down a small section of the settlement's defence ramparts and wounding 2 men. Alone this wasn't anything to worry about but with Baltimore Haven's other problems tension was now at an all time high. Now he was trying to reassure an even more worried sick Mayor.

"Jim, I understand your concern but it's only been two days, have a little faith!"

"Easy for you to say! My baby, my only daughter's out there all by herself."

"She's not by herself. She's got a friend and two of my best with her. Just give it a little more time..."

He was interrupted by one of his men up on the rampart near the gates. "Vertibird coming from the south!"

Both men, elated, ran up to join him in the lookout post as he kept looking through his binoculars.

"Is it the Captain's?" Houser asked hopefully.

"What the hell?" the Enclave soldier hoped he was hallucinating. "Four of them!"

"Four?" Houser's hopes turned to ashes in his mouth as he grabbed the binoculars and took a look for himself. The blood drained from his face as he saw the symbols on the approaching Vertibirds. "Get your people to cover, Jim! It's the Brotherhood of Steel, they found us!"

"Major!" Another Enclave trooper joined them from below. "Those Raider bastards are back, they're hitting the east wall again."

_Shit, not now! _Despite the mounting pressure Houser kept his head. "Get Sergeant Taylor and as many men as you can get over to the east side and get rid of them ASAP! If those Vertibirds decide to hit us..."

"Wait a minute they're...flying over us?" Everyone gaped in surprise as the Vertibirds flew over Baltimore Haven, banked toward the east side of the settlement and then unleashed their ordinance into the attacking Raiders beneath.

Up in the lead Vertibird Leon was getting ready for a combat drop. "Good job we brought four Vertibirds, there must be nearly 100 of those bastards down there. Drop me in behind them."

"What's your plan?" Sarah asked."

"I 'm sneaking in on the back, see if I can hit them where it really hurts. If I can take out their leader or kill a whole bunch they'll run."

Sarah nodded in agreement. For all their fierce looks most Raiders were cowards and opportunists, not soldiers.

"Leon, can I...?"

"Not this time Amata. This is a one man stealth job. Next time, ok?"

The pilot brought their Vertibird away from the main battle site to just about a block away and hovered a few feet up. The streets were much like Washington's and afforded plenty of building cover. Leon swiftly lowered the ramp and jumped out. The pilot wasted no time in pulling into the air again.

"Just him alone against that lot? Is he nuts?" Kayla's eyes came close to popping out of her skull as Leon left.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't seem fair, does it? Maybe he'll be generous and just shoot left handed."

Down on the ground and a block away the Red Blades were having a much tougher time than planned thanks to the Brotherhood Vertibirds. Their rockets, combined with the Enclave plasma fire from the walls, had killed 40 Raiders out of a force of 100 and their leader Stiletto was less than happy. He was a typical filthy punk haired Raider except for the machete and Metal Armour he was equipped with.

"I thought you said they only had 1 or 2 of those flying things left, Nate. So what the fuck do you call those?"

"We can still do this Boss. I'll go get the real heavy stuff we picked up. Doesn't matter what armour or walls they got, nothing's stopping that shit." Nate tried to sound confident even though he was visibly shaking through the Painspike Armour he wore.

"Then stop shaking like a pussy and go get it!"

Nate ducked and dived from cover to cover all the way back up the street past his fellow Raiders who were just wasting ammo in hopeless shots at the main wall or the fast moving Vertibirds. Finally he reached the intersection where they'd set up a small camp and where they'd stashed all their best gear in case they needed it. He quickly found the supply crate he was looking for, opened it and pulled out a pristine Fat Man they'd stolen from an old army bunker 2 days ago. Nate smirked sadistically as he loaded a mini-nuke into the tube. _Those 'All hail America' pricks are really gonna get it now! Hope they got some good looking girls in there, I haven't had any in...what the fuck is that?_

Nate looked up to see the air shimmering and rippling in front of him. He had no time to think before Leon decloaked and rammed a combat knife straight into his throat. Blood pooled out of his mouth and he tried to gargle a curse before he crashed to the ground. Leon quickly reactivated his stealth field and checked around to see if anyone had seen him. No one had. Just as he'd hoped all the Raiders were concentrating on the wall and he'd made easy stealth kills on the three that had been left at the makeshift camp. Now he could do some **real **damage as he retrieved the Fat Man...

_Where is that useless son of a bitch? _Back at the front Stiletto was losing what little patience he had left along with two more of his men who had just fallen to plasma fire. But that would prove to be the least of his concerns as a HUGE explosion ripped into his rear lines. Leon's mini-nuke shot had been lethally accurate landing squarely in a group of ten Raiders and literally disintegrating them. But it had a much worse effect than that as it blew up the engines of 2 car wrecks nearby which then blew up themselves and caused the engines of more car wrecks to catch...soon the whole street was vanishing in pillars of flame, mushroom clouds and obliterated Raiders.

Stiletto and a few lucky others at the front were all that escaped the destruction domino effect by running into a side alley and out onto another street. All the rest were...extremely well done.

"Holy mother...if that dick Nate isn't dead, I'll kill him!" Stiletto screamed in rage before he was pulled away by his remaining friends.

The Enclave defenders on the wall were just as stupefied.

"What the hell hit them?"  
"Don't know but it sure as hell wasn't us. It all seemed to blow up from the back."  
"I don't know either but I'm not complaining."  
While they were babbling amongst themselves and a cursing Stiletto fled with the remnants of his force, Leon calmly took the next adjacent street down to the settlement walls and started walking around them trying to find the gate.

Back inside the settlement Houser and Jim weren't exactly celebrating as they saw one of the Vertibirds coming in to land. The other three were hovering a little further away just in case.

"Hold fire! Don't fire unless fired upon!" Houser was hoping they could talk their way out of this one. As it turned out he couldn't talk at all. His jaw practically hit the floor when he saw Dan Kerrigan and his team getting off the Brotherhood Vertibird. Yuna had barely got off when she was flung off her feet by her relieved father.

"Reporting back, Major," Dan finally broke the silence. "We had a rough ride but mission accomplished."  
Houser exhaled in relief. "Ok... so is he here?"

"He's outside," Sarah said descended down the Vertibird's ramp with Amata. "He'll be joining us as soon as he mops up your Raider problem."

"I'll go make sure he gets in!" A delighted Jim ran toward the gate pulling Yuna with him.

"Your commander, I presume?" Sarah asked Dan and got a nod in response.

"Major Gary Houser, Enclave recon division. At least we _were_. Now we just defend this place."

"Sentinel Sarah Lyons, Brotherhood of Steel. You've got radio here I hope?" Her tone was colder than the North Pole.

"Yes, why?"  
Sarah passed him a note. "You need to set it to that frequency while we're here because if we _don't _report in to the Citadel on a daily basis...let's just say these birds will be back and they'll be a lot less friendly."

Houser nodded. "I didn't expect much else."

"Let's just say my trust of you is even lower than Leon's is and that's pretty much subterranean. Like him I'd sooner shoot you than work with you but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now."

"Major!"

Houser turned to see two of his troopers running toward him.

"What is it?"

"The attack's over, sir. We didn't lose anyone but the Raiders got blown all to hell, god knows how many dead!"

"How, what happened?"

"The whole street just blew up around them, every car engine core. They didn't have a chance. I'm not entirely sure what happened."

"They met me." Jim and Yuna had returned from the gate with Leon who still had the Fat Man on his back. "Well me and this."

"God, the Raiders had that? Good thing we dropped you when we did." Sarah was stunned and horrified all at once.

"Yeah, you almost had a nuclear hole in the wall. Don't think they'll be trying again anytime soon though, not after losing over half their men."

"Something which we're very grateful for," Jim said warmly.

Leon shrugged. "Don't thank me yet, I haven't done much of anything unless those Raiders were your main problem, which I'm guessing they're not."

"Hell no, it's a lot worse than them. Let me give you a tour then we can set you up with someplace to stay."

"Thanks. Nice place you've got here," Leon cast an eye over the Enclave troops scattered around the settlement. "Well, your taste in friends notwithstanding."

"I'll second that," Sarah couldn't resist sniping at her Enclave opposite number as she and Amata went by to join Leon.

"Oh man, between Iceman and the Ice Queen we're in for a good time," Kayla sighed as they left.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Get used to it, Kayla. This is as good as it's going to get. We're lucky he's here at all."

Houser nodded. "Let's go back inside. I want a full debriefing anyway."

**Vault 99**

A few hours after their debriefing Dan and Kayla were having dinner in the vault cafeteria and catching up with two of their friends, Enclave mechanics Mira and Matt Kane. They were identical 28 year old twins, sharing the same jet black hair and love for fixing things.

"I can't believe you got the Lone Wanderer to join us," Matt said as he downed a Nuka-Cola.

Kayla shook her head in reply. "We didn't. He came to help this place out not us. It's safe to say if Baltimore Haven didn't exist we'd now be dead."

"He still hates us that much?" Mira had been shaking in her boots since she'd learned the dreaded Lone Wanderer was coming.

Dan's jaw almost hit the floor at that. "Well, let me see. We attack and try to steal his father's life's work; real good start. We kill his father right in front of him; great stroke of genius by Autumn that one. And, oh yes Eden orders his capture and tries to persuade him to commit genocide. Sheesh, Mira I can't think why can you?"

Mira looked down after realising how her words had come out. "Ok, ok, I get it."

"Seriously though the tension here has gone crazy," Matt revealed. "I was talking to a few of the wall guards earlier. They all expect him to turn on us and for us all to be dead when he does."

Kayla nodded. "I've heard the same."

"And just what are we supposed to do about that?" Dan asked pointedly. "Given he's expecting a knife in the back from us just as much and he probably doesn't give a shit about how we feel anyway?"

They had no real answer for that.

"Come to think of it what's he been doing today?" Kayla tried to change the subject.

"Basically starting from scratch. Checking all ways in and out and all the security systems," Dan didn't sound too hopeful.

Matt groaned. "I thought you guys had done all that already?"

"Never hurts to look again. I don't think he'll find anything new though. There's no access through the sewers; that's bolted tight. The only other ways in are the main gates and by Vertibird..."

"...unless they're parachuting in which I doubt."

Sarah Lyons and Amata had sat down at the next table.

"No luck yet then?"  
Sarah sighed. "None at all. It's just like you were saying: no obvious way in, no traces at all and no clue as to who or what is doing this. All we do know is they are damn good at what they're doing. Leon's still checking all the camera records but I'm not holding my breath."

"Anyone want to take an educated guess? I'm open to any ideas at this point," Dan asked.

"Slavers? Super Mutants? Doesn't feel like either though. Super Mutants aren't that subtle," Mira offered.

"There are no Slavers around here either," Kayla put in. "The ones we know of Leon pretty much wiped out, plus most of them are idiots anyway."

"Can't argue with that. I just hope we can crack this before..." Sarah's face had gained a worried expression.

"Before what?" Dan's curiosity had been piqued.

"Before Leon lets his real bad side out for some airing," Sarah said seriously.

Amata was stunned. "Real bad side? I didn't think he _had _a bad side!"

"He didn't, Amata, until the so called great Enclave entered his life," Sarah nodded at Dan and his friends who looked away in shame. "His dad meant the world to him as I'm sure you knew. Losing him changed Leon a lot."

Kayla understood what Sarah was saying. "We saw a little of that from Raven Rock's recordings. He was like a war machine fuelled by hate."

"You saw just a foretaste," Sarah snorted. "You should have seen him at the Jefferson Memorial."

Dan suddenly caught on. "Colonel Autumn. How did he go down?"

Sarah smiled grimly. "Not well."

**Flashback-Jefferson Memorial**

The battle for Project Purity was all but wrapped up. The Enclave's barriers and Vertibirds were in smouldering ruins outside and Colonel Autumn and his two guards were all that was left in the control room. Leon, Sarah, Fawkes and Charon wasted no time in heading there after gunning down the last few in the lobby.

"You again," the Colonel tried to feign indifference but no one was fooled. "Can't say that I'm surprised. You and your ilk seem hell bent on destroying everything our government has worked to achieve."

Leon removed his helmet and smiled coldly. "I think you'll find it's called tit for tat. Since you destroyed everything my dad was working for I thought it only fair to return the favour. But enough jokes. It's all over Colonel. Your so called 'good guys' have lost."

"I beg to differ. When this purifier activates we will be the new heroes of the Wasteland..."  
"You think you'll last that long?" Leon spat. "The cavalry isn't coming, chump. Your men are all dead and you're all that's left here. Oh and Eden won't be having any more chats by the way."

Autumn sucked in his breath as he took all of this in. He had indeed been stalling in the hope that reinforcements would show up. For once his confidence was weakened.

"Anyway," Leon went on. "Since I'm fighting on Brotherhood orders you get one chance to walk and take your two mutts with you. You get safe conduct out of the area and you never return."

Once he heard that Autumn's misplaced confidence came back and he drew all the wrongconclusions in thinking that Leon had been bluffing.

"As if I'd surrender to the likes of you! Such arrogance!"

_The words pot, kettle and black come to mind._ Sarah couldn't believe she'd heard him say that. The offer had been a serious one and Sarah had been very impressed that Leon was able to make it without giving in to temptation. By rejecting it this moron was digging his own grave.

"I'm giving you one chance, Autumn. That's more than most get!" Leon was fast losing patience and his restraint.

"You're out of your depth and now I'm going to prove it. Say hi to your dad for me!"

_Oh you stupid prick..._. Sarah was aghast. Of all of Autumn's errors, and they had been legion, this had to qualify as the ultimate one: he had made this personal. Charon and Fawkes wasted no time in making their opinions plain as they opened up and obliterated one of Autumn's bodyguards. Sarah followed suit and decapitated the second with precision shots from her laser rifle.

Autumn had time to snap off a shot at her from his pistol but in doing so sealed his fate. Before he knew it he was staring at the power armoured harbinger of his doom up close and personal. Leon grabbed his gun wrist and brutally twisted it until he heard a satisfying snap and the even more satisfying screams of pain from the Colonel. He screamed all the more when Leon rammed his knee into his groin and he collapsed to the floor. In desperation he tried to retrieve his pistol with his other hand until Leon stomped on it with his foot snapping every bone and eliciting another scream. Leon retrieved the gun himself as Autumn lay on the ground wailing in agony.

"Well I guess that's that," Sarah said.

"Not yet," Leon's sub-zero expression and tone hadn't changed a whit as he grabbed the screaming and broken Colonel by the head and dragged him from the control room.

"Leon! Wait, where are you going?" Sarah was alarmed by the change in her comrade in arms.

"Looks like he's settling accounts," Charon could relate to what Leon was feeling. "Go after him if you want, we'll stand guard here. Word of advice though; don't try to stop him. Not unless you want to stay friends."

Sarah nodded and caught up to Leon as he dragged the Colonel up onto the gantry outside and slammed him against the guard railing over the water. The impact jolted Autumn back to consciousness.

"Please be comfortable you senile old shitbag!" Leon had come out of machine mode and was giving his rage full vent.

"So you win this one but this isn't over you little bastard! The rest of the Enclave will reclaim this place and avenge me!"  
"If they're anything like you they won't reclaim shit!" Leon snarled in contempt. "You can kiss your 'America' goodbye. I'm going to hunt down every one of your kind until the Enclave's extinct."

Autumn realised he was not going to make any dent in Leon's resolve and that he was beaten. "Fine, just finish it! I'll say hi to your dad instead!"

Leon grinned sadistically and Autumn suddenly felt a feeling he'd not felt in years: fear. "No you won't. My dad isn't where you're going."

Leon grabbed Autumn with both hands and with an amazing surge of strength lifted him into the air. "Enjoy your trip to hell!"

_Oh fuck NO! _Autumn just had time to have that thought before Leon threw him off the gantry into the water below...and into the Mirelurk nest that was down there. Sarah winced at the gory sight as the giant crab mutants ripped and tore the wailing Autumn into bloody shreds.

Leon just stared with grim satisfaction. _That one was for you, Dad._

Sarah found her voice again a minute after it was over and all that was left of Autumn was a cloud of red in the water. "Leon, we need to get back to the purifier."  
Her voice snapped Leon out of it and back to reality. "Right, lead on."

Leon walked back to the control room, his destiny and a 2 week radiation induced coma but ultimately victory and he would be hailed as the greatest hero in the Capital Wasteland. By contrast Colonel Autumn died ignominiously at the site of his final defeat, unmourned, and his grave forever unmarked.

**Vault 99 Cafeteria**

Amata, Mira and Matt looked like they were about to lose their lunch. Even Dan and Kayla were taken aback by Sarah's tale.

"Don't believe me? Can't say I blame you, if I hadn't seen it I probably wouldn't either."

Dan shook his head. "It's not that. It's just that after hearing Three Dog's broadcasts..."

"...It's hard to believe the same guy could do this? All I can say is it's amazing what people can do if they're pushed far and hard enough. He may be a hero to a lot of people but he's still human. He still loves, hates and makes mistakes like all the rest of us." Sarah's face had grown a real concerned look. "And the longer he's here the more worried I am. He scared me that day and it's a side of him I never want to see again."

"I don't want to see it at all!" Amata certainly couldn't believe the boy she grew up with could do something like this.

"I think we're all with that," Dan agreed. "We're just not sure how, or even if, we can help. Most of us are scared shitless of him for obvious reasons. They're afraid history will repeat at any time and they'll be dead when it does."

Sarah understood that. "Just tell them to stay out of his way and not give him any reason to. All we can hope for is that we stop these attacks and get through this as fast as possible. Speaking of which I'd better go see how he's doing."

**Overseer's Office**

Sarah's concerns had some foundation. Leon wasn't exactly happy to be in a nest of Enclave but the settlement's plight had tempered that somewhat. It didn't take much to see why they'd looked to him for help but this time he wasn't at all sure he could deliver. He had found no obvious way in other than the main gates, that had included a sweep of the sewers, and the computers and cameras had yielded no clues either other than showing signs of professional hacking. It was as if it had been done by pip-boy.

"Leon."

Leon turned from the computer bank to see Yuna toss a purified water bottle over to him.

"Thanks."

"So..."

"No, nothing yet." Leon couldn't offer much comfort yet. "But I am not giving up on this, Yuna. You've got my word on that provided your Enclave friends are able to keep theirs."

"Thanks Leon. Don't give up on Dan and the others too quick. They've been our only real friends for all this year, after all."

"I'll keep that in mind. Are you sure there are no other ways into this vault? I seem to have gone through everything else."

"Not that we know about," Jake overheard the question as he joined them inside the office along with Jim. "There's nothing on the vault plans and us vault kids know what's down on the maintenance levels; we used to play hide and seek down there all the time."

Jim sighed. "I don't know what's more terrifying: getting hit by those Raiders or people vanishing around you, taken by another enemy that we can't even see."

Leon whirled round as if he'd been shocked.

"What was that? Hide and seek and...oh man!" Leon slapped himself in the head as he realised.

"What is it?" Jim and the others were baffled.

"You two are geniuses and I'm a frigging idiot! I can't believe I didn't think of that before now. Go get the others here now and I'll show you what I mean!"

Ten minutes later, after they'd rounded up Sarah, Amata and Dan and all his friends from the cafeteria they got back to an empty office.

"I thought you said he was going to show us something?" Houser was more than a little confused.  
"He did and he was here a minute ago!" Jake was doing no better.

"I keep my promises!"

Leon's voice seemed to come out of nowhere and had everyone looking all around the office and out in the corridor.

"Where...what?" A nervous Kayla blurted out.

"I can see you...can you see me?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Cut the crap and power the suit down, Leon!"

Leon powered his stealth field to reveal himself in the Overseer's chair.

"Nice trick!" Dan was somewhat impressed. "Where did you get that suit?"  
"Made it myself. Slapped a suit of Recon Armour and Combat Armour together along with a stealth system from a Chinese Stealth Suit I salvaged from an old war bunker in DC."

"What was that supposed to accomplish except scaring the hell out of us?" Yuna asked.

"I'd have thought that obvious. How do you think your mysterious friends are getting in unseen?"

"You mean they're...?"

"Check this out." Leon brought up the view of the vault entrance inside the main vault door. "This is the recording from the night of the last kidnapping. They hacked the computers to access the doors but they overlooked one thing."

Leon zoomed the screen in to an area near the vault door and played the sequence in slow motion. "Real hard to see but once you know what to look for..."

They all saw it. The shimmering, rippling 'ghost' effect near the entrance railing. Large enough to conceal a person and when it moved it certainly looked like one.

"What do you think?" Sarah finally broke the silence.  
"Definitely a stealth suit of some kind. It's too long to be just a Stealth Boy."

Dan couldn't believe it. "Stupid, stupid! How the hell did we miss this?"

"Don't beat yourself up too hard. I needed help to figure it out," Leon grinned at Jake and Jim. "At least we know how they're doing it now."

"But we still don't know who they are or why they're doing it," Houser fretted.

"How do we find that out?" A worried Mira butted in.

Leon shrugged. "By locking the next stable door in good time and catching them at it. That's the only way."

Dan winced. "Not easy."

"No. We'll need your guards everywhere, all the lights we've got to hand and everyone on high alert. There's only one way to find them." Leon pointed to his eyes. "All sensors are useless against Chinese stealth technology. Even pip-boys won't cut it." Leon knew that full well from his Anchorage experience and nearly getting killed by Chinese stealth snipers.

"Well at least it's a step forward," Jim said with some relief. "We know how, now we just need to find out exactly who they are."  
"Or what," Leon remarked.

"What?" Amata didn't like the sound of that.

Leon thought back over his adventures. After ghouls, Super Mutants, Zeta aliens...

"If you'd seen what I have over the last year, you'd know not to rule anything out Amata. I hope they're human and easy to deal with but...well you never know."

As he left they all stared with new trepidation at the stealthed image on screen everyone sensed they'd be finding the answer to that real soon...


	7. The face and steel of the enemy

Oh man, I can't believe it's been a month since I updated. Sorry all readers but I'm just not a fast writer as a lot of others and the release of Honest Hearts didn't exactly help (sorry again!). I WILL keep going somehow even if Old World Blues and Lonesome Road come out in the next couple of months.

Krow Blood: I'm pretty sure you're right about that. But you have to admit that Autumn's actions and words wouldn't have brought out much compassion or mercy from a LW already overdosed on rage and pain.

Anyway time to end the suspense as the attackers show themselves...

**Vault 99**

Leon had spent most of the day looking over the floor plans of the settlement and the vault before retiring to the room he'd been given. It was almost identical to the one he'd shared with his father in Vault 101, which wasn't entirely a good thing. He kept seeing 'ghosts' of his father seated in the chair or walking around the room. _Damn memories. _

He tried to push this aside and focus on the task at hand. But that really didn't help either as there wasn't much left for him to do. Houser and Dan had deployed every camera and every emergency light they had around Baltimore Haven and the settlers had volunteered to monitor the cameras in shifts. The only way for this to work was to keep doing this 24 hours a day and 7 days a week until they could catch their enemy in the act. But that meant the ball was now in the enemy's court and, until they tried again, Leon and his friends were stuck playing the waiting game.

"So Leon, what do you think?" He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Sarah and Amata coming into the room. It had been Sarah that had spoken.

"Of what?"

"This whole situation. You still think these attacks are real or if it's an Enclave put up job?"

Leon shrugged. "I 'm going for real. At least that's what my gut's telling me."

"But you're still not convinced, are you?"  
"Dan and his friends seem straight enough. If things were different I'd trust them fully. But..."

"It's that they're with the Enclave?" Amata asked.

"Yeah, that's exactly it. You were lucky enough to miss the war, Amata. The things they did...George Washington and the Founding Fathers would be rolling in their graves. That so called Enclave was an affront to everything America stood for. Dan, Kayla and the others seem to be good people but I think they picked the wrong team."

"Probably had no choice," Sarah mused. "I get the feeling they were born into the Enclave like I was into the Brotherhood. I think they might be open to a change of team. If this goes well maybe...?"

"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it," Leon's tone indicated he would take some persuading on that front.

"Fair enough, I'll see you later. I really need some rest."

Leon exhaled heavily as Sarah left. "No good. I can't just sit around like this."  
Amata seemed to feel the same way. "Then can I get some more training in? All I got was a crash course with this rifle and a few hours of abuse back at the Citadel."  
Leon couldn't help but grin at that. Paladin Gunny had put Amata through a 'hazing hell' of physical and combat training before they'd left but it had been worth it. She could at least be of some use in combat now and there was no telling when she'd have her first real fight.

"Ok, let's go find whatever firing range they've got around here."

**Overseer's Office**

"So everything's set?"

"As much as we're able to, Major," Dan sighed. "More lighting around all the entrance gates and doors, guards are on high alert. Can't do much more."

"What are you feeling so down for? Your idea to bring Leon here was the right one; we're finally making some progress thanks to him."

"Just feeling like we should be doing more, that's all."

"We are doing something. We're waiting to spring an ambush," Houser argued. "And stop worrying about Leon, you want to look my age on your next birthday?"  
"Aren't you even half worried given what he did to Colonel Autumn?"  
"I'd be an ass not to be a little worried but that's all I am," Houser said firmly. "Autumn was a fool and from what you told me he brought his end on himself. We do all the right things here and we'll get a negotiated peace out of this, I'm convinced of it. He may be a little brutal on occasion but he seems fair minded. Where is he now?"  
"Over at the firing range training that girlfriend of his."  
"If you want us all to keep on living don't go around saying that too loud," Kayla smirked. "Those two don't even look like they're past first base yet. Leon seems to be at the other end of the clue meter when it comes to girls."

"Or maybe he does know but doesn't want to get close yet," Dan reasoned. "After what happened to his dad and all."  
Houser rolled his eyes. "Ok, quit discussing our saviour's love life and get down to setting some patrol assignments. If our 'guestimates' about the next attack time are right they'll hit again within the next three days, which could mean tonight!"

**Vault 99 entrance**

Amata was over the moon as she returned to the vault after an hour or two of impressive shooting down at the firing range. She'd proved an expert with the laser rifle and had impressed even Leon with her precise hits.  
"You sure you never used these before?" he'd asked as she lasered one bullseye target after another at the firing range.

Out of curiosity Leon borrowed an Enclave plasma rifle for her to try and she did just as well with that. Amata, it seemed, was a natural with energy weapons.

"Now do you think I'm good enough?" Amata's confidence seemed to be up ten notches.

"Ok I'll admit you're an amazing laser shot but let's not get ahead of ourselves," Leon warned. "Good against plastic targets is one thing, good against living targets that can shoot back? That's something else. But yeah, I think you're good enough to start in the field now."  
Amata beamed at that. She was fed up with being dead weight or the girl along for the ride.

Leon was ecstatic too but certainly wasn't going to show it, at least not yet. He had the classic instructors' problem: when do I back off and let her try for herself? Amata wasn't unskilled or naive just inexperienced. But getting past that without getting killed...Leon remembered his first few days out of Vault 101: bullet wounds, crippled limbs and the like. They were experiences he didn't want Amata to go through if he could avoid it but he knew that wasn't likely. _Time to hold my breath and hope she can cut the mustard, I guess._

"So when do I get to start?" Amata asked hopefully.

"Whenever our 'friends' show themselves," Leon promised. "When they do you'll start helping us full time."

"Thanks Leon, that means a lot."

"You might not be thanking me later," Leon warned. "Just stay careful for now, ok?"

Amata pouted a little. "Leon, you don't have to keep protecting me! I'm a big girl, you know."

"Yeah I know. But that doesn't stop knives, bullets or rockets, does it? Just think of this as me repaying you."

"Repaying me? For what? I don't owe you anything, it's the other way round remember?"  
Leon raised his eyebrows. "Oh and you forgot all those years in the vault when you were bailing me out all the time? I haven't. Besides, how could I forgive myself if I let my best friend get killed out here? You tell me that."

Amata was tickled pink and knew she wasn't going to win this. When it came to protecting friends Leon was as stubborn as she was. Hell Leon was too stubborn, period. That was how Butch and her father had nearly always been on the losing side back in the day.

"Ok, you win."

Both walked back into the vault to eat and rest up.

**Overseer's Office**

"Still nothing yet?"

It was 20:00 hours and a bleary eyed Jake was regretting volunteering for the night shift. Having an overeager Dan who'd had one too many Nuka-Colas for a partner didn't help either.

"Dan, you're the chief and all, but if you keep asking me that every ten minutes I'm going and leaving you here!"  
"Ok, ok. Sorry."

Jake exhaled heavily and turned to Dan. "All I'm getting is bloodshot eyes. You want to take over on the monitor? I could use a Nuka-Cola myself right now. Uh, Dan?"  
Dan had frozen up entirely and was staring at the camera screens.

"Hey, Earth to Dan are you...hey?"

Dan responded by grabbing the back of Jake's head and turning him to face one of the monitors, namely the one covering the front gate where a 4 man night patrol was just arriving back.

Jake was about to ask the obvious question when he saw the reason in the illuminated gateway. It was still hard to see but the extra emergency lighting was enough to give away the outline of the stealthed intruder. Jake and Dan watched as the patrol finished passing through the gate and headed back for their barracks before their uninvited guest started to move from his hiding place.

As soon as he started moving Dan lurched for a hand held radio. "Sentry 1, get off your ass and come in!"

"Captain? What's wrong?" Sentry 1 was a guard post on the high wall to the left of the gate.

"Get your night vision on and look down inside the gate! Hurry!"

"Right, hang on. Oh shit..."  
"You see him?" Dan was getting frantic as the figure had now gone out of his camera view.  
"Yeah, I see it. It's heading up the main street toward the apartments. Should I take him down?"

Dan quickly thought on his feet. "No, but keep your eyes on him. Whatever you do don't lose him! We mustn't waste this chance you hear me?"

"I hear you, sir. I'll go down and keep eyes on him."

"Take some others with you and keep this radio link open," Dan turned to Jake. "I'll get Leon, you keep on those monitors and try and find where he's going."  
"You got it!"

**Vault 99 lobby**

The last seven minutes had been the quickest in Dan's life as he ran all the way through the Vault to wake Leon from his quarters and then back up to the vault door.

"You still have visual, Sentry 1?"  
"Yes sir, just barely," came the muffled reply down the radio. "He's moving real slow past the apartment blocks up toward the vault."

"Has he seen you?"  
"I don't think so. He's keeping to the side of the street and out of the way but he's not stopping. Hold on, yeah he just passed the last residential block. He's definitely heading for the vault. I'll keep with him."  
Leon, Sarah and Kayla rushed into the lobby in time to hear the guard's report. Leon was straight to business.

"How many? Just the one?"

Dan nodded. "Looks like it and he's headed in here!"

Leon quickly looked around the lobby. It had the standard set up of the main door, a small staircase up to the reception floor, a control room booth and two doors; one of which led down to the engineering section and the other to the living quarters.

Dan's radio then gave another update. "He's definitely going in, sir."

"Right, as soon as he's in block the entrance. If he comes back out, blast him!"

"Yes sir!"

"Since we've got him bottled in let's take him here. How do you want to play this? Dead or alive?" Leon asked seriously.

"Alive if possible. I don't think we'll get another chance at this."

Leon nodded in agreement as he produced a 10mm pistol. "I'll hide just inside the door then, see if I can get a leg wound and stop him getting anywhere. You hide in the booth or behind the doors and we'll trap him in between us."

Dan dived into the control booth and Kayla and Sarah hid behind the engineering door as Leon jumped down the stairs and activated the stealth field on his armour as he reached the door. He didn't have too long to wait before the shape of the stealthed intruder came through the open vault door. Leon couldn't help noticing the size of his hidden opponent; it looked like he was at least six feet tall. Still that wouldn't matter for what he was about to do.

Leon waited until the figure had reached the top of the entryway stairs and then he decloaked and squeezed the trigger. His shot was dead accurate but instead of a scream of pain and his quarry falling down his bullet ricocheted away into the side wall.

_What? _Leon decided to risk all and snapped off three more shots, this time into the target's back, but these had no more success as they pinged away as well. The intruder, realising he'd been detected, stood up and deactivated his stealth field showing the reason why Leon's attack hadn't worked: his back was pure metal.

_Shit, he's got Power Armour on! _ Leon flung his useless 10mm aside and was reaching for his Metal Blaster when the intruder turned around making Leon freeze in shock and horror. He was facing a monster, a monster that had once been human and partly still was. His legs, arms, and torso were all metal as was the left side of his face from the cheekbone up. His original left eye was also missing, replaced by a glowing red cybernetic one. The only organic part of him left showing was the rest of the face, that of a Caucasian male in his late twenties, and it was stone cold and emotionless. A basic metal combat helmet covered the rest of his head.

Leon snapped back to reality fast as he saw the cyborg raise his right arm in an aiming gesture. He rolled away a second before a plasma bolt slammed into the spot where his head had been a second ago.

"Alright freeze you...what the?"  
Kayla, Sarah and Dan had all sprung from their ambush points but they too froze up at the sight of the cyborg. A costly mistake.

The cyborg whirled round with fast speed for his size and fired again, catching Kayla in the upper arm and blowing her backward into Sarah who in turn lost her balance and both ended up falling back down the engineering staircase.

Dan acted on instinct and opened fire at full automatic. But he'd made the mistake of choosing an assault rifle for his weapon and his bullets proved no more effective against the cybernetic armour. With an amazing turn of speed the cyborg lurched forward through the hail of bullets and the next thing Dan knew he was hanging in the air with a metal fist gripping his throat. He dropped his now useless gun and tried to pry himself free with both hands but to no use. He even tried to kick the cyborg away...and only succeeded in nearly breaking his foot on the cyborg's crotch plating.

"You are obsolete." The cyborg's voice was a horrendous sound, an unnatural mix of human and sentry bot. "You have resisted and will be deleted."

"Hey tin can! Forget about me?"

The cyborg made the old error of turning his head around to be met with a laser bolt straight in the head from Leon's Metal Blaster. He lost his vision and half of his organic face and he dropped a dazed Dan to the floor. Leon wasted no time as he locked his VATS system in on the cyborg's head and fired shot after shot until it was a molten mix of flesh and metal and he crashed to the ground destroyed.

"Oohhh, son of a bitch!" Dan struggled to his feet rubbing his throat and limping on one leg. "What the hell is it?"

"Some kind of cyborg," Leon said giving it a cursory examination as Sarah came back up the stairs helping a burned Kayla. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"Is it dead?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"I think so. Looks like even it can't function without a head."

The conversation was cut off by a scream and the sound of laser shots from down below.

Leon went sheet white. "Shit, Amata!"

He leapt down the stairs to the residential wing of the vault and discovered a crowd of vault dwellers milling around not Amata's assigned room, but the Overseer's. He pushed his way through the crowd inside to find a distraught Jim Lawson and Jake trying to revive a zoned out and semi conscious Yuna. Amata was standing nearby over another cyborg. It was in the same state as the one Leon had left in the lobby and it didn't take much to guess what had gone down. Amata, shaking like a chem user lacking a fix, dropped her laser rifle and collapsed to the floor throwing up as she did so.

"Oh god, Amata I'm so sorry!" Leon thought he'd given Amata a safe job by standing her on guard over the vault residents. Instead she'd been forced into her first real fight and she'd been forced to kill for the first time. All he could do was pull her into his arms as her tears raged against his armour.

An ashen faced Houser and a still limping Dan forced their way into the room behind them.

"Another one of them. It must have snuck in before we saw the first," Dan sighed.

Houser's face was painted with sheer disbelief as he stared at the remains of the human machine hybrid. "I expected Slavers or maybe mercenaries but...this?"

"I can't believe it myself, sir," Dan replied. "But I don't think denial is going to help."

"No. Get Doc Farnsworth out of bed. He's got a long night ahead of him patching all of you up and then taking these...things apart."

"Yes sir."

As Dan hopped away Houser pulled another guard over. "Get all the security personnel up and search the area. Arm them with plasma guns and heavy weapons. Sweep every room, every corridor, every inch right now!"

Houser looked in growing revulsion at the cyborg. _Ghouls, Super Mutants, irradiated animal mutants and now cybernetic men? What other nightmares did the war create?_


	8. Tough love and even more brutal truth

Ok next part. Thanks again for all the reviews guys; they make the pain and writer's block worthwhile!

Geraldford: Mack is kind of out of the way in vault 101 and let's face it, not much of a brain in his head for most of that. Some nice ideas otherwise though, I might use one or 2 for the next part...

Lord Coake: True but the BOS has struggled like hell with the Super Mutants for all these years and alas, these cyborgs are not robots so pulse grenades aren't magic bullets in this case.

CaTigeReptile: Glad I'm going ok for you so far. To answer your question: no. This is not Commonwealth tech as will be made clear in this part.

**Vault 99- 3 hours later**

Houser's extended security sweep turned up no more cyborg intruders and, much to everyone's relief, no one else was abducted that night. Dan spent the night in the vault's infirmary healing his crippled foot along with a half hypnotised Yuna. It turned out the second cyborg had blasted her with an improved Mesmetron gun and the effects were a lot longer lasting. Leon helped a still sobbing Amata back to her room.

"How do you live with it, Leon?" Amata gushed between sobs.

The poor girl couldn't get the events of the last few hours out of her mind. During her rounds she'd stopped in for a girl talk with Yuna and they'd been completely taken by surprise when the cyborg had decloaked in the doorway. Yuna had no time to dodge as the cyborg snapped off a shot from his left wrist and hit her with a blue hypnotic beam. Amata, acting on pure instinct, lunged for her laser rifle and targeted his head with 3 VAT S shots as she'd been trained. They were shots that Annie Oakley would have been proud of, striking him right between the eyes and then blowing straight out the back of his head. She'd frozen up in horror at what she'd just done and had stayed in that position until she'd collapsed into Leon's arms.

"How do I live with it? By not thinking about it most of the time," Leon eventually replied. "I know what you're going through; I've been there myself last year. Man, you should have seen the pile of puke I threw out when I escaped the vault."

Amata didn't seem to be listening. "God, I'm a killer! A monster! I..." Her sentence was cut off at that point by Leon's hand slapping her across her face. She staggered back in shock both at the slap and Leon's angry face. "L...Leon? Why?"

"Because you needed that little wake up and you needed it badly!" Leon fumed. "You? A monster? Just because you killed something that would have killed you in a heartbeat or less?" Leon punched up a sequence on his pip-boy, namely his kill figures, and showed it to her. "Well, if that makes you a monster then what does this make me? The devil incarnate?"

Amata was lost for words at Leon's actions and the indisputable fact that his kills were in the hundreds.

Leon's face softened. "I'm sorry for that Amata. The first time's always a bitch and I know it's not easy coming to terms with this. But lying to yourself isn't the way. You defended yourself and Yuna from a monster that was going to kill the two of you or worse. Last I looked that wasn't a crime."

"How did you get over it? When you got out of the vault, that is," Amata couldn't help asking.

"First off a heavy puking session like you had then two bottles of water and an hour or so of self loathing," Leon said bluntly. "But in the end I picked myself up and moved on."

"How?"  
"How do you think? I was alone in the middle of the wasteland looking for my dad and with nowhere to go. I didn't have much time to feel guilt or ill. I had to survive."

Amata sniffled and then nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry, it's just..."  
Leon pulled her into an embrace again. "I know; I know it hurts. But you still have a good heart and you're still the caring girl I remember. You wouldn't be hurting this much if you weren't. But the bottom line is you have to find a way of moving on and it's something I can't teach you how to do. If you stay around me this sort of thing is going to happen a lot and odds are you'll have to kill again."

It wasn't what Amata wanted to hear but she knew he wasn't wrong. "Leon, what if I can't find a way?"

Leon hated this but he knew it needed saying as he released her. "If you want to stay with me then that's not an option. As Paladin Gunny would say a soldier who can't fight is no soldier at all and he's right. If you can't get past this and move on then you should go home."

"Do you think I can? Don't you want to me to stay?" Amata was giving him a hopeful look and Leon knew she wanted a vote of confidence.

Leon only went halfway. "Personally, yeah I want you to stay. But that doesn't get you past your problem. I believe in you but the question is: do you? Only you can answer that. Let me and Sarah know when you find the answer."

With that Leon walked out into the corridor and wasn't surprised to encounter an eavesdropping Sarah.

"Well done. I didn't think you could pull that off."

Leon felt like the worst human being alive. "Pull what off? I just hit my best childhood friend. God I can't believe I did that!"

"She needed hitting, Leon," Sarah was in her Ice Queen mode. "Better that than a laser hit or her moaning herself into depression, don't you think? You practically said it yourself: if she can't cut it on the battlefield then she doesn't belong on it."

"You think she can get over this?"

"I think there's a good chance. Amata's a strong willed girl and she's already done a lot better than I expected. I thought she'd freeze up on her first fight. It's just she needs time to adapt, she doesn't know battle yet like you and I do."

Leon knew there wasn't anything else that could be said. It was up to Amata now.

**Vault infirmary-next morning**

Dr Neil Farnsworth was not someone you'd have immediately associated with the Enclave. The jovial silver haired 61 year old doctor, physician and scientist was someone that Leon thought his dad would definitely have warmed to as he himself had done after they'd crossed paths in the cafeteria. At this point in time, however, his sense of humour was at an all time low as he finished his examination of the cyborg corpses along with Matt and Mira, who'd had to help in cutting off the powered body armour from the bodies.

"Unbelievable."

"That the only word you've got for this, doc?" Dan joked as he got off the medical gurney he'd been resting on all night helping a still dizzy Yuna off her gurney as he did so.

"It's the most appropriate one that comes to mind but there are others. Obscene, horrific, and nightmarish are good too," Farnsworth muttered as he took off his reading glasses.

Dan's face lost all trace of a smile. "Never thought I'd hear you say that after all the examinations you've done."

"I'll admit the Super Mutants come close but this? The horror is a little more personal shall we say?"  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
"He means he _knows _these cyborgs or at least one of them; am I right doc?" Leon said as he came in with Houser, Kayla, Sarah, Jake and Jim.

Farnsworth nodded as he pointed to the cyborg Amata had taken down. "I'm afraid so. This one here is, or was, Josh Ames."

"WHAT!" Jake, Yuna and Jim were aghast. This cyborg was one of their own, abducted from Baltimore Haven a few weeks or so before they'd left to find Leon.

"Yeah I was afraid you'd say that." Leon looked angrier than ever. "Sarah, I think we need to contact the Citadel. They still have a team digging through the computers at Vault Tec HQ right?"

"That's right...uh oh." Sarah had just caught on to where Leon was going and she wasn't disappointed.

"Tell them to search for the records on all vaults in this area, especially those that had special equipment orders, encrypted files and hidden agendas. I think you know what I'm talking about."

"I'm afraid I do," Farnsworth had a grim knowing look on his face and so, to a lesser extent, did Houser. Dan and Kayla had blank confused looks on their faces.

"Then we'll have another meeting later today. I think I can persuade the Citadel to fast track this," Sarah promised as she and Leon left to head for the radio room.

"What did he mean by that?" A shell shocked Jim managed to blurt out. "And is that...thing really Josh?"  
Farnsworth sighed. "We'll explain what he meant later. As to your late friend, yes it's confirmed. DNA doesn't lie I'm afraid, nor does this." Farnsworth lifted up the cyborg's left arm to reveal a pip-boy 3000 fixed into it below the Mesmetron. "They're not just kidnapping our friends and loved ones. They're turning them against us as well whoever or whatever 'they' are."

After delivering the message to the Citadel and returning to Leon's room, Sarah and Leon found Amata waiting for them there.

"Amata, I..."

"It's ok, Leon," Amata cut him off. "You don't need to apologise."

"Then why do I feel that I do?" Leon had never felt the need more.

Amata smiled a little. "Probably because you're still trying to protect me all the time?"

"That has a lot to do with it I think," Sarah smirked.

"Well you forced me to make a choice and I have," Amata had gone all serious again. "I'm staying."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Leon asked.

"More to the point are you sure you can cut it?" Sarah was no nonsense. "Let me get this straight, Amata. I'm ok with you staying if you can battle with us. But if you freeze up again and someone else dies because of it, I'll shoot you myself."

Amata didn't flinch. "Fair enough. But I'm still staying."

Sarah grinned. "Looks like I might have been right about you. Well then welcome aboard _Initiate_ Amata."

"Wha...Initiate?" Leon spluttered.

"Why not? If she's in it might as well be all the way. Besides I think we need more girls who wear Power Armour and not Scribe robes in our chapter. Well, now that she's ok I suggest you get back to the firing range and get her training again, right Knight Commander?"

Sarah left smirking all the way to the bank half sensing the evil look that Leon was giving her. Leon, for his part, was dreaming up ways to kill Sarah real slow and he was already up to number 15.

"Well, shall we go?" Amata was desperately trying to keep a grin off her face at Leon's discomfort. But that discomfort would soon be hers.

"Ok then Initiate. Let's go train."

The way Leon said that made Amata uneasy and she was proved right...

**Vault Cafeteria**

"Holy...what happened to you?" Sarah couldn't believe the sight of a very bruised Amata sitting down opposite her at the table.

"3 hours of hand to hand training," an exhausted Amata sighed. "At least that's what Leon called it. Said that since I was an expert with lasers I should start on up close combat."

"Ouch," It was Sarah's turn to taste humble pie. Leon had taken Sarah's own trick and turned it back on her. There was no way she could argue with his logic and she knew it. Her little matchmaking tactic had sorely backfired.

"Look Sarah, I know you're trying to help but can you stop trying to force us together? It's getting so obvious even Leon can tell."

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm just too eager to try and get results helping Leon out of his funk and you into the surface world."

Amata smiled. "It's ok. But this sort of thing can't be rushed especially with Leon. I do have feelings for him and I think he does for me but, well we have a few issues to get past. The way I treated him last year didn't exactly help and nor did losing his dad."

Sarah knew she had to cede that point. On top of that Leon wasn't your average guy. He was the Lone Wanderer and unfortunately had begun to live up to the name over the last year. Sarah also had to admit that she and the Brotherhood had to carry some of the can for that as they'd mentored and trained him too well. He was now a lot like her figuratively speaking: a cold and professional career soldier with not much interest in jumping into a bed or relationship with anyone.

"Alright Amata, we'll play it your way. Just promise me one thing: don't let him go. Thanks to Three Dog there are god knows how many girls in the wastes that would try for him, including me if I had the time!" Sarah said with a wry smile.

Amata smiled in return as Leon entered the cafeteria and joined them.

"Recovered yet, Amata? For your first time out you did well this morning."

"Doesn't feel like it. All I can remember is you picking me up off the floor most of the time, and since we were training did you have to hit so hard?"

Leon scoffed. "If you think I hit hard wait until you try a Super Mutant. Getting hit by them _does _hurt even through armour."

Sarah nodded. "Too true I'm afraid. Did the Citadel come through, Leon?"  
"Yeah they sent a decrypted file through. Just had to wait for it to be transferred to holotape and then onto this."

"And?"

Leon turned his pip-boy to face both Sarah and Amata. "See for yourself."

The blood drained from their faces as they read through the file. "Those crazy dumb bastards!" Sarah couldn't believe what she was reading.

"That pretty much says it all. I've radioed a warning about our metal friends back to the Citadel. I'd best go see our Enclave friends. We need another meeting and an expedition putting together."

**Vault main hall**

"Jeez, how many people are they trying to get in here?" Jake complained as he managed to sit down on one of the few unoccupied chairs in the hall.

"Nearly the whole vault and a few others I think," Yuna replied looking up at the speaker's podium at the other end where Doc Farnsworth was setting up a projector.

Dan, Kayla, Matt and Mira were also in attendance next to them along with a good chunk of the Enclave troops and the vault leaders. The vault hall was over double the size of Vault 101 and was perfect for 'town meetings' but it was now very crowded.

"Alright, everyone settle down. We've got a lot to get through and a lot to discuss." Houser quickly quieted the room down as he strode up to the podium with Leon, Amata and Sarah following.

"As you know we have been under sustained attack for the last few months. These attacks have claimed many victims, kidnapped from right under our noses in our own homes," Houser painfully admitted. "We never knew who was behind these abductions or the reasons for them...until last night."

Doc Farnsworth switched on the projector to show photographs of the bodies of the two deceased intruders which caused a lot of sharp breath intakes around the room. Most had heard the gossip that the enemy were cyborgs but actually seeing them was something else entirely.

"Any real weaknesses in them, doc?" Dan asked.

Farnsworth shook his head. "Not many. Their armour is in the same class as our Hellfire or a T-51b. They're not like robots, they're part organic and pulse grenades don't have enough focused yield so they aren't an easy solution either. An EMP pulse gun might but the plans for that were lost a long time back. Heavy and energy weapons are the only ways to go. Bullets and hand to hand certainly aren't as Mr Kerrigan could attest."

Dan winced as a chuckle went through the room at his expense.

"Where are they from? The Commonwealth? I heard they were heavily into robotics and cybernetics," Mira spoke up.

"Robotics and android engineering, yes. Cybernetics no. The Commonwealth has built lifelike humanoid androids but all of them were completely synthetic to start with. This is altogether different. These poor bastards were once ordinary human beings. Their arms and legs have been cut off and replaced with metal and they've had power armour chest plates fused and soldered onto the rest of their bodies. Not to mention the cybernetic circuit intrusion into the brain."

"So there's no way back for them, then? Once they're converted, that's it?" Kayla asked with a sinking heart.

"Alas yes, I think so. If all the models are like this then they lose their identities and their personalities through the process. It's like having half your brain taken out and replaced with a pip-boy processor."

Dan grunted. "At least they can be killed; Leon had no trouble getting a clean headshot. Plus if they don't have weapons heavier than plasma pistols or Mesmetrons we shouldn't have too much trouble."

"Don't be so sure," Farnsworth disagreed. "Their arms are purely metal and the weapon fixtures on them are interchangeable. In theory they could be equipped with anything from a sword blade to a 10mm submachine gun to a plasma or laser pistol."  
"Not to mention they could still carry and use heavier two handed weapons," Houser pointed out.

"So if they're not from the Commonwealth where did they come from?" Mira asked again.

The pained looks returned to Houser's and Farnsworth's faces. Farnsworth found the courage to speak first.

"The answer to that has a long and complicated past story to it. Most of you aren't old enough to remember what happened on the west coast but are any of you familiar with the Mariposa military base?"

Dan felt a heavy sinking feeling. "Yeah. When I was a kid living in Navarro I remember my dad having some concerns about that place. Something about rumours of experiments going on in there."  
"If only. They weren't rumours I'm afraid. Just before we were forced to evacuate Navarro I sneaked a look into some encrypted files and found out the truth: that our forces had been carrying on a very bad idea from the pre-war government, namely secret and highly immoral experiments. Where do you think the Super Mutants on that coast came from?"

"Oh no..." Dan screwed his eyes shut in despair.

Leon and Sarah, for their part, were incredulous. "You mean you lot don't _know_? Oh man this is rich!" Leon spluttered.

Most of the Enclave hearts in the room sunk even further. "Know what?" Kayla weakly asked.

"These 'experiments'..." Leon spat the word as if it were a curse. "...weren't limited to your bases. They happened in a lot of the vaults too. They were authorised by the pre-war government and Vault-Tec was complicit in helping them along. I've seen the results of a few of them. Doc, can you bring up the map?"  
Farnsworth pressed a button on the projector and brought up a map of the Capital Wasteland with its vaults highlighted.

Leon walked over to the display. "Let's start with Vault 92. This was supposed to house people of musical talent. But it was also decided to be used for 'white noise' control experiments. The result: most of the vault turned into blood crazed killers who were almost immune to pain. Everyone killed each other." Leon took a pen and put a line through Vault 92 for emphasis.

As expected virtually the whole room had gone into shock so Leon pressed on.

"Next is Vault 108. The eggheads here thought cloning humans for use as soldiers was a good idea except their clones turned out as psychopaths who slaughtered all the residents," Leon crossed off Vault 108. "Vault 106. Mind control gas was the theme here but their gas didn't control jack shit. It caused hallucinations, paranoia, psychosis and you can guess the rest."

From the expressions on everyone's faces the shock was turning to nausea as Leon went on.

"Last and by far the worst: Vault 87. They used Forced Evolutionary Virus on a lot of the residents and the result was the big cannibalistic, violent and otherwise jolly green giants called the Super Mutants that we're still fighting now." Leon put a line through 87 as his tone turned ever more sarcastic. "All in all folks, the results of these experiments are one big unholy fuck up in my humble scientific opinion."

"No kidding," Sarah sighed. "Why don't you tell them what we just found out?"  
"I was getting to that. We sent a message to the Citadel this morning. When we discovered pip-boys in those cyborgs I got a bad feeling that this would be another one of these gone wrong, and it is. A few miles north of Baltimore is where Vault 66 is located and according to the file lifted from Vault Tec HQ this was where Project Steelguard was to take place. We saw the results of that last night: out of control cyborg soldiers. It's Vault 87 all over again except with cyber conversion instead of a virus."

"God in heaven..." Houser managed to get out. He'd known that some dubious experiments had been performed but he'd never dreamed in his worst nightmares that it had gone this far.

"Nah he didn't have anything to do with it," Leon snapped. "My dad aside, this shit was the biggest reason I never believed in you or your Enclave. You wanted to bring back the same government that allowed all of this? Don't know about you but I don't think so."

"Point well made and taken," Houser didn't want to get stuck on this again. "But now that we know all this, what now? I don't think we can just charge up to Vault 66 and openly attack can we?"

"No, not without knowing who or what is leading these cyborgs and exactly what's going on up there, which means we have to put a small recon team together to go have a look."

Jim looked at Leon as though he'd lost his head. "You've got to be kidding? Who's going to volunteer for that? It's practically a suicide mission."

Leon shrugged. "Better to risk just a small team than a whole army. Plus we don't even know how many of them there are. We know they've been there for 200 years just like the mutants. There could be dozens but if their process is better than FEV...there could be _thousands._"

The room went so quiet at that you could have heard a pin drop.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Well I'm going to rest up and get ready to leave in the morning. Any volunteers should be at the front gate then. If there aren't any I'm going on my own."

"You're sure as hell not alone!" Sarah and Amata were at his side in a flash as he headed for the door. "Not this time."

"Thanks. The rest of you have got until tomorrow morning to make up your minds. I'll see you then...or not."


	9. Cyberutopia

Man, finally! I am so, so sorry for the extreme delay on this part. I've had the summer from hell. First I bust my arm for 2 weeks then my computer says bye-bye (and takes all my work with it!). I would have had this out weeks ago if not for that. Anyway thanks for all the reviews guys, I need the advice and they make the sweat and pain more bearable.

**Houkou: The **Big Empty's a tad wackier than this but it did give me some ideas (about the only good thing from this delay!)

**Tigersplice5: **I know what you're saying though Sarah does seem to lighten a little around the Wanderer toward game's end. But you're right she is pure elite forces soldier in temperament.

**MrUnclePeanuts: ** Afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. This is not our sensitive politically correct safe world this is post atomic apocalyptia; sensitivity is a tad scarce. As Tigersplice made clear Sarah is also Special Forces, she expects the best from herself and thus everyone else around her, and she'd have no time for dead weight. Probably right about the plasma pistol gift! Excellent poem on your profile BTW.

**Alavon, Ed and Watermelon: **Glad you like it and sorry I couldn't update sooner. I'll try and make up some time with the next one.

Now it's time for a little more downtime with our heroes and a disturbing look into the sinister and dark mindset of the cyborgs and their Alpha leader. Enjoy!

**Baltimore Haven**

Amata and Sarah ended up back on the firing range after the meeting, intent on getting in as much training as possible before they left in the morning. Sarah hadn't said anything but she was getting more and more impressed with Amata by the minute. Less than half a day after first kill throw up and she was back on the firing range and still hitting near perfect scores. Sarah had no doubt that if Amata kept going like this and held herself together emotionally the Pride would be gaining another fighter when they got home.

Sarah didn't know it, of course, but Amata was in more turmoil than anyone thought. It wasn't her first blood that was needling her but her feelings for Leon. She knew he'd been overly hard on her but part of her was glad that he had. She'd only been in the wastelands a short time but she'd learnt enough to know that if you caved in to despair out here you were as good as screwed. But while she seemed to have got past that she hadn't cracked her other problem: namely how to get close to the 'new' Leon. She remembered the old one from their vault days like it was yesterday: hardworking but shy, nervous and a science and med geek to boot who was always getting picked on by Butch and his Tunnel Morons. This Leon was a far cry from that; if anyone tried to threaten or bully him now that would be the equivalent of a suicide note. Amata couldn't help but curse her own actions. She'd had a prime opportunity to get closer to him last year and she'd missed it. No, that was wrong; she'd not only missed it she'd totally blown it. Amata had to admit that sending him away from the vault so soon after losing his father had contributed to making him into the cold Lone Wanderer he was now.

Amata slapped another microfusion clip into her rifle and started blasting targets again with new zeal and purpose: she'd get through to him whatever it took...

**Vault 99 Cafeteria**

Dan and his friends weren't doing so well either. None of them could be described as naive but that was exactly how they were feeling. They'd all heard bad rumours about the vaults and Enclave bases but nothing could have prepared them to find out that they were _all true_.

"Penny for them?" They all looked up to see Doc Farnsworth standing over their table. "Your thoughts that is."

Dan sighed. "It's just hard to grasp, Doc. How could we have missed all this? The signs were there all the time, how could we have been so naive?"

"That's not naivety, Dan," Farnsworth shook his head. "That's an endearing human quality called hoping against hope. We all 'knew' but we chose not to see it in the hope that it wouldn't be. You're not the first to do that."

"How did you deal with it when you first found out?" Matt asked.

"Much like you at first: poorly. I felt angry, sickened, betrayed, violated...you name it. Felt as if half my life had been lived for a lie and the whole joke was on me."

"So what did you do then?" Mira butted in as her interest piqued.

"Quite simple. Derail the program wherever I could. I discovered Richardson and his cadre had quite a career lined up for me and Mariposa was part of it. I turned down every promotion offered and used all the stalling in the book to stop them sending me there. The NCR and Brotherhood hit us at just the right time as I was running out of time and tactics. After they pushed us out doctors became a lot more valuable than Frankenstein scientists."

Dan grinned. "And now here you are."

"That's it. I know it sounds like I was pissing in the wind. But what else could I do? I wasn't a soldier or saboteur. I could only deny them my skills and knowledge and hope someone else stopped them, which in the end the Vault Dweller did."

"History's being real cute then," Matt muttered. "Here we are stopped dead by another vault dweller."

"Yes quite, but don't forget that he had damn good reason to stop us dead. Why the hell Eden sent that murderous fool Autumn to Project Purity instead of the Major god only knows. That one act of lunacy on their part cost them everything."

"Can't argue with that," Dan grunted cynically. Farnsworth had hit the nail right on the head though no one could have possibly foreseen that at the time. Killing Leon's father had created a deadlier, more vengeful Lone Wanderer with a blood oath against them and had ensured that the Enclave were fighting a war lost before it had even begun. Eden's carefully laid plans for America's revival ended up in the same grave as James Kallan.

"So what now?" Kayla managed to ask. "Are we going with him tomorrow? Assuming he even wants us."

Dan nodded. "Not much choice, have we? I don't think he has either. He may not like us but I don't think he'll want to take on a vault full of cyborgs by himself."

"Glad to see I didn't have to persuade you," Farnsworth looked relieved.

"Why are you so desperate for us to do this?" Kayla was confused.

"Call it an old man's wish. I wasn't able to put right any of the wrongs that were committed in our name but you still can. We all know the Enclave is at death's door. It's safe to say the second task force is lost. We'd have heard something by now."  
Everyone knew he spoke the grim truth. After regrouping at NORAD the Enclave had split into two. The main force went east for their ill fated campaign in Washington and a smaller group had headed back west, in the hope of building their strength back and making another attempt on California. To avoid detection they'd decided to swing south through Arizona which may well have been an error in judgement as that was the last anyone had heard of them. If they were lost then that meant that Baltimore was the last Enclave bastion in existence.

"If we are going out, Dan, make sure it's for something good which we'll be remembered for. We'll never save the Enclave's reputation fully after what Eden and Autumn did but...well I think you know what I'm saying."

Dan understood. "Let's go get some training before we turn in. We've got a hell of a few days coming up."

**Leon's quarters-20:00**

Leon had gone back to his room to plan out the way to Vault 66 with the help of a few downloaded maps and his pip-boy. Despite all his bravado this was one mission he was not looking forward to. Half the time he rested his head on a pillow and went to sleep he ended up back in the hell that was Vault 87. Diving into a similar situation held very little appeal but he knew there was no backing out now. There wasn't going to be any backup from the Citadel either, they were still up to their eyeballs in water caravans and Super Mutants. It was annoying but not surprising.

Unfortunately that left him stuck with the Enclave, which he didn't consider reliable or trustworthy, and Sarah and Amata. God, what a mess.

"Can't sleep either then?"

Amata stood in the doorway dressed in her old 101 jumpsuit looking tired and haggard.

"What do you think?"

"I think you look like hell right now!" Amata couldn't resist it.

Leon tossed a pillow at her. "Look who's talking!"

Amata's face crunched into a worried look. "Seriously though...this is it. You can train all you want but when it's time to step up to the plate you start to wonder whether you can really pull it off..."

"Amata!" Leon sighed. "Don't start that again. You're capable and both of us know it. Just keep alert tomorrow and your instincts and training will kick in do the rest. Count on it, look at the teachers you had."

"Just wish I had your confidence, that's all."

Leon sighed. "Who says I'm confident? There's still too much we don't know. Have these things got a leader in that vault? How many of them are there? And what are they trying to do; make cyborgs of everyone they come across? Last thing we need right now is another thing like this, the Super Mutants were bad enough."

"Yeah, I remember you saying, they dragged people away to their vault just to make more of them. This is just the same."

"No, it's _worse,_" Leon spat. "Most Super Mutants couldn't string more than a few words together and it was easy to outwit them. These things are just as strong but more intelligent, they can use stealth and their armour and training is better from what I've seen. All we can hope for is that there is something vital in that vault that we can trash and end this threat before it spreads any further."

"If anyone can do it, it's you," Amata tried to give him an encouraging smile. "You're not alone this time either. Sarah's with us and so are Dan and his troops."  
"I'm not sure if that's good or bad," Leon grunted in reply. "I'm still a long way from trusting them yet but I suppose we've got no choice. Just the 3 of us isn't going to cut it."

"Give them a chance, they might surprise you."

"Yeah and they may not."

Amata groaned inwardly. Leon's stubbornness was sometimes more of a liability than an asset, not that she didn't understand in this case. She'd half wished that her father had been more like James Kallan had been. To hear that he'd been killed as he had just for a grubby little power grab by the Enclave sent her blood into a boil too. Dan and his friends were nothing like James's killers but it seemed to make no odds to Leon. His vision seemed blinkered when it came to the Enclave and anything associated with it. Still it was perhaps a bit much to expect change on that front overnight.

"All right, well then to change the subject...can I stay here tonight?"

Leon turned around in surprise. "What brought this on? Are you ok?"

"I just can't sleep no matter what I try. I guess this is the famous 'night before the battle'. I think it's a tad overrated!"

Leon couldn't help grinning at that as he got up. "Ok, I'll take the sofa in the other room and..."

"Leon...oh I give up!" Amata pulled a startled Leon into a hug. "It wasn't another bed I wanted. I want some time with you!" With that she pulled him down onto his bed still hugging him tight. "This is where I feel safest after all."  
"That's...good to know," Leon was taken aback. _I thought she'd have moved on. She can't feel THAT way about me after she chased me out last year...can she? _

"Can we stay like this for awhile? Please?"

Leon, loving the warm feel of Amata against him like this, was never going to argue. Not after the long day of planning, mapping and training he'd had. "Sure."

Amata sighed in pleasure as Leon hugged her tighter. _I could get used to this! I was a fool to do what I did. Oh man, I don't want this to end..._

Five minutes later both were peacefully asleep in each other's arms. Neither had any nightmares that night.

**Vault 66**

Vault 66 rivalled Vault 87 in terms of gruesomeness, albeit not as openly. There were no pools of blood or piles of flesh across the floor but that didn't mean the horror wasn't there. The many cyborgs patrolling its hallways were proof enough of that. Their hulking armour, warped faces and glowing eyes were bad enough. But what few knew was that these were only the recently converted _basic _models. The more advanced, though much fewer in numbers would have given even Leon or Sarah pause.

At this moment in time the cyborg commander known only by his designation: Alpha, was monitoring the events of the last 24 hours with a mix of disquiet and interest in what had been the Overseer's office. His 'organic' cold face looked about 40-45 years old under the samurai style wide brimmed helmet he wore although, in reality, he was now pushing 240.

Alpha had practically lived through it all: the Chinese-American War, the fall of America and the Old World, the great burn and the post atomic horrors. He had been one of America's top scientists before his cyber upgrade and the research chief on Project Steelguard: America's first attempt at creating cybernetic organisms and metal super soldiers. To any casual observer the results were beyond obscene as metal and flesh got fused with horrific results and complications. Dozens of vault 'volunteers' died during the procedure as brains haemorrhaged, veins and organs burst as they rejected the implants and metal joints and some woke up halfway through the procedure and died from sheer pain shock and terror. Despite the early mishaps, Alpha was able to refine the process to the point where it had a 100% success rate.

In fact he'd refined it so much that there were now 2 main grades of cyborg: primary and secondary. The secondary made up the majority; they were now basically obedient drones, either soldier or worker depending on the need and the individual's skills. The primary, of which Alpha had been the first, were far superior. They maintained their sentience and previous personalities. Alpha had been a wily one even before he was a cyborg and he suckered the Overseer and the vault authorities into allowing expansion of his experiments. By the time any concern was raised it was far too late and the Overseer was facing the newly born Alpha cyborg. This project, and his 'children', were his by right. Alpha had no intention of turning it all over to a broken nation on borrowed time or it's jumped up Overseer lackey. That had been the end of the government plans and the start of Alpha's own.

He'd kept in touch with the outside world through the modified Enclave eyebots which he'd had his cyborgs shoot down, recover and modify for his own purposes. He knew the situation in the Capital Wasteland full well. He was not surprised that the Enclave had lost. In his eyes they were the definition of failure in every sense of the word. He had lived through America's death; he'd seen it rot out from both the outside and the inside. The external Chinese threat had proven far greater than America had realised and their overzealous efforts to counter it lead to the moral and internal decline. The Enclave was the last gasp of all of this, a failed product of a failed nation. For all the technology in their hands they had become a self serving nepotistic dictatorship reduced to absurdity. It was a dead end, culturally and evolution wise.

The Brotherhood of Steel, however, showed some potential. Their passion for technology, making sure it was used wisely, and keeping it out of the hands of the irresponsible masses. Their philosophy seemed very close to his own. Their containment of the Super Mutant aberrations and their victory over the Enclave made them prime candidates to lead humanity...under cyborg guidance of course. In his future the worthiest and the best would rule as primary level cyborgs leading the obedient and efficient workforce of secondary cyborgs into the future. The unworthy and the redundant could still serve as the former Overseer and the not so foresighted had done...in the vats of raw molten flesh that had been used to sustain and regenerate him and his fellow cyborgs. They still did today of course. Raiders, unfortunate wastelanders and other assorted chattel (by his standards) had fed this disgusting process for 2 centuries but it was more than justified in Alpha's mind, logic was his guiding hand.

By logic, he and his cyborgs were the next phase for humanity. They were stronger, more durable, more rational and realist than anything before them. They would be more enlightened, their greater age and longevity would see to that. Where flesh alone would age and fail, flesh reinforced with metal would not. There would be no blinkered political ideology that had destroyed the Old World, no more 'All hail America' nonsense or Chinese revolution drivel. Order, logic, purpose, direction...to Alpha's scientific and cold mind this was utopia and now it was almost within his reach. The only things he lacked before starting his cybernetic evolution program were other worthy individuals to join him in leading it. Hence his interest in the Brotherhood and especially in its newest member, the Lone Wanderer, the prime mover in the Enclave's demise. If Alpha could find him and help him achieve his full potential then his cyber revolution would be kicked into overdrive.

All of this was his main purpose in attacking Baltimore Haven. Accelerating the Enclave's end was a bonus but he'd hoped to draw the Lone Wanderer out of the Capital Wasteland and into the open. It seemed his efforts had at last paid off. The reports of his probes and the destruction of his last raiding party had proven that.

Of particular interest were the last transmissions from the 2 destroyed cyborgs. Losing them was a setback but as he stared at the images of Leon and Amata on screen he knew it raised a few possibilities. Anyone who could best a cyborg in combat was of special interest.

"We have reconfirmed the presence of the Lone Wanderer in the Baltimore settlement along with his female friend and a high ranking Brotherhood soldier. All 3 of them could be suitable for the Omega leadership and other primary functions."  
Alpha turned in his chair to see Delta, another of his rare cyborg leaders. He was similar in appearance to the standard cyborg but his plasma gun was souped up and his bulkier silver lacquered armour had a greenish tinge to it as it had been laminated with Saturnite, an experimental hard alloy from the great lab known as the Big Empty.

"Excellent. Keep me aware of their movements. The Omega leadership desperately needs filling so we will need to find them soon."  
"It would seem, if we wait long enough, they might find us." Delta's reply seemed almost flippant for a cyborg. "Our probes have picked up enough information to ascertain that they know the location of our base and will try to attack us."

"Unfortunate...and yet opportune at the same time. Activate two devastator units and a heavy battle suit and send them to the Aberdeen rail tunnel. As we know that is the only passable route they can use from the Baltimore ruins. Bring me those three alive for upgrade, delete the rest."

"At once."

Alpha turned to look at Leon and Amata on the screens again. He was confident he had now found the next cyborg generation for the future. _Yes...soon they will be perfect..._


	10. Charge of the heavy brigade

Finally beat the curse of writer's block again. The next part might be awhile away alas, as I'll be donning my Courier hat again and heading for the Divide in the next week or two. :), but rest assured I'll keep working on it even if I can't stop playing new DLC.

Geraldford: You're a fountain of ideas alright and I like the way you think. As you'll see in this part though, these cyborgs are not _that_ easy to tank on...

Alavon: That's one of the perks of being a writer, dropping cliffhangers :).

**Vault 99**

Sarah got a shock when she went to give Leon a wakeup call after he didn't show at the cafeteria. Her eyes had practically popped out of her skull when she'd discovered Leon and Amata in bed together, albeit still in their jumpsuits.

Sarah grinned as she recovered her wits. "Hey wake up soldier! We got a mission today, right?"

Leon and Amata jerked awake at the sound of Sarah's loud voice. Amata went as red as a tomato as she realised where she was and the fact she'd slept with Leon.

"Oh shit...Leon I'm so sor..!"

"Take it easy," Leon hugged her again whilst casting a frigid look at Sarah. "That was the best sleep I've had for awhile so I've got no complaints if you haven't. Go on, go get ready. Today's the day so don't forget anything."

As Amata swiftly left Sarah realised that Leon was still giving her an ice glare.

"You don't help sometimes, you know that Sarah?"  
"What was I supposed to do? Not as if I expected to find you two together. At least you had a good rest; as you said today's the day. You all ready and up for this?"  
Leon shrugged. "No but does it matter?"

"Me too, and you're right it doesn't matter. By the way, I think you should try locking the door next time you want to...!"

"Ok, ok, I get it," Leon muttered. "I'll meet you in a few minutes."

**Overseer's Office**

"Just the two of you coming with us then?" Sarah asked Dan and Kayla as they waited for Leon and Amata to join them. Dan and Kayla, not taking any chances, had donned standard Enclave power armour for this job.

Dan looked uncomfortable. "Maybe. There's something we want to run past Leon. If he doesn't go for it it's just us."

"Given the way you look now it's obvious he's not going to like it," Sarah mused. "I'm guessing I won't either."

"We're not keen on it either," Kayla admitted.

Leon and Amata turned up before Sarah could press further.

"This is all who are going?" Leon asked.

Dan nodded. "Provisionally. You said a small group so it was just supposed to be us but there's two others who want to go and they're waiting at the front gate." Dan was looking awkward and Leon was starting to wonder why. The question was practically written all over his face. "You'll see when we get there."

Leon didn't have to get all the way to the front gate before he saw why Dan felt as he did. Jake and Yuna were waiting at the front gate alongside Houser, both in standard Combat Armour and armed with plasma rifles.

"They're not serious?" When Dan just grimaced at him Leon knew the answer. "Oh man they are! What gave them suicidal tendencies all of a sudden?"

"Yuna getting mad, that's what, "Kayla explained. "She spent a night as a drooling mess in the infirmary thanks to these things. After that and all that's happened in the last few months she wants some payback."

Dan sighed. "Jake has a crush on her the size of the Washington Monument. He didn't want to go but since she is now..."  
"Great," Leon was less than thrilled. "Sarah, what do you think?"

Sarah was also wasn't keen but given Amata was coming along she didn't have too many reasons to refuse them. "Are they trained enough for this?"  
Kayla wasn't too sure. "They spent all yesterday on the firing range practicing with those guns. Their scores were good but beyond the mission with us to find Leon they don't have much field time."

Sarah shrugged. "Same rules apply then. They can come if they can fight. Any problems they go home, assuming they survive that is."

"Fair enough," Leon agreed as they came to the gate.

"So are we ok?" Yuna nervously asked as they approached.

"If you think you can handle it," Leon said neutrally as he could. "You really think you've got the stones to blow a cyborg's head off?"  
Yuna's face darkened. "After what they did to me and all my friends? Am I ever!"

Jake looked just as determined. The fire in their eyes seemed real enough for Leon.

"Fine. Ok , pip-boys everyone. We need to get our route straight in case we get separated."

Dan looked over Leon's shoulder to check the route Leon had planned as the others copied the route and Yuna had another tearful goodbye with her father.

"See any problems, Dan? I don't know too much about this area," Leon asked.

"We're heading clear of most Raider territory," Dan reasoned. "I doubt we'll meet many of them. The biggest problem will be the Aberdeen rail tunnel. As far as I know it's never been explored but it's the only way through to where Vault 66 is without having to go 2 or 3 days out of the way through the rest of the ruins and over the hills. If we take the tunnel we should be there late this afternoon; maybe less if the going's good."

"Any new wildlife around here, beyond the usual that is?"  
Dan shook his head. "Nothing new. We've seen radroaches, giant ants and the occasional radscorpion but no Yao Guais or Deathclaws, thank god. There's Mirelurks on the waterfront but I don't think they'll be where we're going unless the tunnels have flooded."

"Not much choice. Come on let's get going, we can't waste any more time."

"Take care out there," Houser had never felt so unsure of things in his life. "I don't want to send you out at all but..."  
"What else can we do? Sit here and wait for them to hit us again?" When Houser didn't reply Leon knew he had his answer. "Thought so. Give us about two days. If we're not back or we haven't called in by then call the Citadel and raise some alarms. I've already told them what's happened up here so they'll listen. Don't send anyone else after us unless they've got a whole army with them if you know what I mean."  
"I understand. I just hope the Brotherhood trusts us enough to send help. Good luck and however it turns out Leon...thanks. I know this must have been real hard for you to stomach after what happened last year."

"Don't mention it," Leon said. "Looking at things now I'm glad I came. This is bigger than me, bigger than all of us."  
"Let's hope it doesn't swallow us," Houser said grimly. "I'll see you all soon."

"Yeah...I hope."

**A ruined building just outside Baltimore Haven**

Ever since his rousting a few days ago Stiletto, never the most rational of people, had been looking for revenge on Baltimore Haven. The problem he had was that most of his Red Blades had been obliterated that day and what little was left was nowhere near enough for another direct assault, so he'd been forced to wait and spy on the settlement which had pretty much wiped out what little patience and restraint he had left.

"Boss, someone's coming out!" Raven, a female punk black haired raider and his new number 2, startled him out of his vengeance filled thoughts.

"Fucking finally! How many?"

"Six, no make that seven. Shit they're well armed though, three are in power armour too!"

Stiletto seemed not to be listening too hard. "Where are they headed?"

Raven zoomed her binoculars in on the gate to see that Leon and his party were turning away and heading in the opposite direction. "North. What the hell they going there for? There's nothing that way but the old rail tunnels and tracks."

"Who gives a shit? We know where they're going now we can hit them and get payback!" Stiletto snarled.

Raven was alarmed. "Boss...you sure about this? They've got better weapons, better armour, better everything!"

"It don't matter, we got more people haven't we?" Stiletto snapped in a tone that brooked no argument.

Raven couldn't believe she'd heard him say that. The only reason they had 'more people' was that they'd gone on a kidnapping spree amongst a few minor settlements and caravans. What they had now was 30 hardened Raiders (including the raid survivors) and a handful of kidnapped assorted wastelanders which included women and kids. They could hardly be considered loyal or much of anything in combat. Still it was obvious Stiletto wasn't in a listening mood. With her heart sinking through her stomach Raven followed Stiletto down the stairwell of the gutted building to return to their camp.

**Aberdeen rail tunnel**

Leon and Dan's main worries about the tunnel were unfounded: the tunnel was devoid of life. The main reason for that were the 6 cyborgs marching south down the tracks. Delta had decided to send double the amount of devastator units and, since Alpha considered this high priority, had decided to observe and supervise the operation himself. The feral ghouls, rats and radroaches they'd encountered hadn't been any impediment at all to their progress. They were now all smoking piles of ash or molten goo back down the tunnel.

"Report your position."  
Delta halted the squad to respond to Alpha's radio call. "We are about to emerge from the rail tunnel."

"A probe has detected a group of seven leaving the settlement and is monitoring them heading north toward the tunnel now. They should arrive there in two hours. Make preparations to intercept."

"Are the three primary targets with them?"  
"Confirmed. Standing orders remain the same: ensure the Lone Wanderer and his friends are secured alive. Delete any others with them."

"Understood," Delta cut the connection and turned to his squad. "Prepare an ambush at the entrance: devastators only. The heavy unit will remain here to meet any unforeseen contingencies."

"Complying."

The four devastators, enhanced combat cyborgs, lived up to the name very well. They had double the armour of the standard drones and it was Saturnite laminated like the leaders were. On top of that their cybernetic eyes had enhanced infrared vision capability; darkness would not protect you from them if you had any body heat showing. Their real ability was in the upgraded energy weapons they carried, between them they carried enough firepower to decimate a small battalion by themselves. Together with the improved Mesmetrons Delta was more than confident of success. For all the Lone Wanderer's skill even he would not withstand this...

**Outside the tunnel- 2 hours later**

The Aberdeen rail tunnel was at the end of what was once a busy city street. The road that lead up to it was flanked by damaged but still habitable buildings and it was in these that Stiletto was hastily setting up an ambush, putting a sniper on a rooftop and hiding most of his other 40 strong crew on the ground inside doorways and behind rubble piles. Little did he know that he was being watched as well from the tunnel entrance. Delta had not anticipated any other players on the field and sent a signal to the heavy unit in the tunnel and the devastators in the service access to make themselves battle ready.

Leon and his party, meanwhile, were just coming into view of the tunnel.

"That's it?" Leon didn't like the look of it as he stopped a few hundred meters away. "Hope you're right about no Deathclaws living here, look at that main door."

The main access door of the tunnel was, unlike most, hanging open so anything of any size could access it.

"Ten caps bet that our 'friends' jammed that open," Dan joked.

"No bet! What...?"

"What's wrong?" Amata asked as Leon and Sarah seemed to tense up.

"Just a feeling we're not alone," Leon warned. He couldn't explain the feeling to Amata; it was just an instinct that he'd developed in the field that had saved his life on more than one occasion. "Get ready to run for cover."

It was then that Stiletto's poor attempt at an ambush started to come apart. The sniper he'd placed, or rather the nervous sorry excuse for one, panicked when he saw Leon stop dead and fired too early. Worse still the shot went wild and sailed over the heads of Leon's whole group.

"Cover!" Sarah barked sharply as she realised in a split second what had happened.

Stiletto turned red with rage. That dick had totally screwed it! The plan had been to let Leon and co get close to the tunnel and then rush and surround them with the whole group so they'd be forced to surrender. Instead they were backpedalling out and taking cover in another dilapidated office building. If they got in there and secured the door his numbers would mean nothing!

"Get them!" He ordered everyone he had forward but it was far too late. His enemies were already inside and they were starting to man windows and doors. Jake and Dan cut down 2 Raiders that stupidly charged down the middle of the street causing the rest to duck and cover. Sarah, equipped with a sniper rifle, did even better as she counter sniped Stiletto's useless sniper straight through the head from an upstairs window.

"Now what?" Raven snapped as she dove behind a rubble pile with Stiletto. "They can hold us off forever in there!"

"I know damn it!" Stiletto wasn't any happier. "We'll just have to starve them ou...what the fuck?"  
Both of them looked around as they heard footsteps behind them, or perhaps 'giant steps' was more appropriate. It sounded like a behemoth was coming from the rail tunnel.

""Jesus Christ..."Kayla nearly had a heart attack as she saw the emerging nightmare.

"Guess again," Leon quipped though he was just as aghast.

The four devastator cyborgs out front were bad enough but what was behind looked like it had clawed its way up from hell itself. It was eleven feet tall, heavy black metal from top to bottom, it stood on two legs and had two arms but the arms consisted of a 30mm heavy Gatling chain gun and the other a 4 barrelled heavy rocket launcher. Its head was shaped like an Enclave hellfire helmet and had glowing orange-red eyes.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment as the heavy metal squad came to a halt a few metres away. It started up again in a rush as the barrels on the chain gun began to spin...

"DELETE!" The hideous roar from the heavy cyborg was followed by a stream of heavy gunfire and plasma shots that sliced through the Raiders like a hot knife through butter. A lot were caught flat footed still gawping at the cyborgs in shock and they never stood a chance.

A few managed to return fire with their assault rifles, 10mm pistols and submachine guns but they might as well have been tossing rocks. The bullets just rattled and pinged harmlessly off the green-black armour. By contrast the tri beam laser, heavy plasma and bullet fire from the cyborgs ripped through thin armour, flesh and bone with ease.

"Fuck, tri-beam lasers!" Leon remembered those from his Overlord encounters all too well.

"And Multiplas rifles?" Dan's mouth was hanging open in stunned shock. "Where'd they get those?"

Leon knew the Raiders weren't going to last and that they'd be next on the list. "Fire! Aim for the heads!"

Everyone fired out of their cover windows and the front door, raining laser and plasma fire down on the devastators. Sarah and Amata hit paydirt, both scoring good headshots on a devastator and reducing its organic head side to mush.

"Suppressive fire," the others responded quickly turning their rain of energy fire onto their building and forcing everyone to duck for cover.

"Keep going, time to do my thing!" Leon cloaked and started sneaking his way out down the stairs and through a side door into an alley out of the line of fire.

Things were hotting up again outside. The heavy cyborg was moving slowly down the main street to support the devastators, firing its chain gun. As it did so, however, two missiles screamed down the street and slammed straight into its chest.

Stiletto and one other Raider survivor dropped their Missile Launchers in jubilation. "HAH HAH TAKE THAT YOU UGLY SON OF A...bitch?"

The words died in Stiletto's throat as the explosions and the smoke cleared to reveal the heavy cyborg almost completely unharmed!

"DELETE!" The heavy wasted no time in retaliating in kind as its launcher arm spat out 2 missiles and reduced Stiletto and his friend to a fine red mist.

Raven could only scream in terror below as the air rained blood and fire and she cowered behind a rubble pile with the only other eight survivors she'd managed to rescue.

Leon had sneaked through the alley and come back around to the street in time to see all of this happen. _Fuck, if its armour's that thick..._

Back in their cover building the others were taking it worse.

"That's it, we're dead! We can't even touch that thing!" Yuna wailed.

Sarah shook her head. "Maybe not, but I've got an idea. Dan, give me all the explosives you've got! Don't waste time asking, just do it! Then cover me."

Outside Leon could see the situation turning into shit fast. The three devastators were advancing on his friends whilst the heavy saturated the building with chain gun fire, keeping them pinned down. As the eleven foot tall metal nightmare lumbered by Leon started to get an idea: _Ok the front might not break but what about the back? Or anywhere else? That thing's got to have a weakness somewhere!_

Leon didn't have to look very long. The heavy's lower back was decorated by what looked like a massive power pack which had glowing green piping coming off it leading to its shoulders and upper back. It was a tempting target but there was one problem. _If that's not a weak spot it'll swing round and I'm dead...fuck it; right or wrong here goes._

Leon locked his VATS system in on the pack and snapped off three shots from his Metal Blaster. The first snapped one of the pipes off from the pack and it started leaking green fluid. The second hit a pipe on the other side and had the same result but the third was the charm, hitting the first leaking pipe and causing the fluid to ignite. The flames spread all the way up through the pipe and inside until the whole thing started shaking and it cooked off and blew up in a green fireball, much to the delight if everyone back in the building.

"Leon, you're a goddamned miracle!" Yuna squealed in delight as the heavy blew up from the inside.

"No shit! Get ready to run!" Sarah had finished some jerry rigging on the upstairs floor. "I'll cover you; get out the side door and away from them now!"

No one needed telling twice. Dan was the last out as he got away just ahead of a hail of Multiplas bolts from the three remaining cyborgs.

"Hey I'm up here you metal shitbuckets! Come and get it!" Sarah taunted from the second floor.

"Primary target acquired, all units engage and capture."

_Perfect! The tin cans are taking the bait! _Sarah thought wickedly. This wasn't much different from the time she'd suckered some Super Mutants.

"Come on, I'm over here!" Sarah ran away from the stairs over to the ruined open windows dodging a blue Mesmetron bolt and palming a plasma grenade as she did so.

"Surrender immediately!"

Sarah just sneered at the cyborgs as all three came up the stairs after her. "Of course...NOT!"

She jumped out of the window throwing the plasma grenade behind her straight into the improvised pile of frag mines, grenades and 1 mini-nuke that she'd taken from Leon's captured Fat Man. The cyborgs barely had time to register the explosive pile before it went off and reduced them and the building around them to rubble and twisted metal.

**Five minutes later**

"God you two are certifiable you know that?" A very dazed Dan blurted out at Leon as he treated Sarah's twisted ankle which was, miraculously, the only injury anyone had received that day. Dan and the others had barely escaped out of the side door when Sarah had landed badly next to them and the whole building blew up behind them.

"So everyone keeps telling me," Leon grunted in reply. "How is it?"

"Hurts like a son of a bitch but I think I can be up and going again in awhile," Sarah grimaced as Leon gave her another stimpak.

Jake, Kayla and Yuna were watching over Raven and the 8 others left in her group, mostly shell-shocked wastelander kids. She'd surrendered to Leon after he decloaked next to her and found herself staring down the barrel of his rifle. For Raven it had been the most terrifying day of her life and she and the others offered no resistance.

Amata was checking out the remains of the heavy and the body of the devastator they'd nailed on the road. After putting an extra shot into the devastator's head just to make sure she'd accessed the pip-boy on its wrist to see what she could dig up. What she got chilled her to the bone.

"Leon!"  
Hearing the urgency in her voice Leon wasted no time in coming over. "What is it?"

On looking at the pip-boy he realised he didn't need to ask. The three pictures on the screen of himself, Amata and Sarah topped by the words 'primary upgrade targets' kind of spoke for themselves.

Leon's mood downed even further. "Shit. Stopping their kidnapping must have really got their attention."

"So what do we do?" Amata's angst had gone sky high. She'd never been targeted like this before.

"We keep going, what else? This proves they're not going to give up now and we can't walk away. We have to take them down before they take us down."

Dan and Kayla helped Sarah to limp her way to joining them. "We radioed back home. They're sending a patrol to pick up the ex Raiders over there."  
"What, they're not just going to haul ass out of here once we're gone?" Leon snorted.

"No they're not," Kayla said seriously. "Not after losing all of their friends and seeing all this. They've promised to give up all the weapons and supplies they looted in exchange for sanctuary."

One look around was all the reason anyone needed. The whole street was strewn with blood, body parts, ash piles and puddles of goo that had once been human beings.

"Ok. I suppose they did us a left handed favour anyway," Leon said. "If those cyborgs had caught us in the tunnel at close range..."

He left his sentence hanging for effect. Everyone knew what would have happened and it didn't bear thinking about.

They were focused so much on that no one noticed the stealthed figure entering the tunnel...

**Aberdeen rail tunnel**

A thoroughly disappointed Delta was making his way back down the tunnel when Alpha called him again for an update.

"I must report that the acquisition has failed," Delta said coldly. "They are more resourceful than we thought."

"So I can see," Alpha had received the destroyed cyborgs' last visual transmissions and was viewing them frame by frame as he had before. "You are not to blame. We could not have anticipated the intervention of the other organic waste."

"Nonetheless they will be more cautious now that they know we are seeking them," Delta warned.

"True, this is why I am recalling you to base immediately. We will allow them to get nearer to us before we strike again."

"How much nearer? I do not think I can set another ambush between here and the vault in time."

Alpha almost smiled as he replied. "You will not have to. They have to come to us sooner or later and when they do arrive at the vault they will be ours. Henceforth I am now assuming control of this operation. You must return at once to assist me."

"Complying."

Alpha disconnected and resumed watching the combat footage. This was a much more serious loss for him but he had plenty more resources to use as yet and this had still been a somewhat productive exercise. He knew that there only seven in Leon's team and he had some idea of how they fought and operated now. The group worked very cohesively in combat, that much was obvious. By logic, this could make a fine asset for him if everything else went as planned. Now deciding that Dan, Kayla, Jake and Yuna would be heading for the cyber conversion chambers as well when they got to the vault, Alpha switched off the monitors and went to plan his next move. The next time they clashed they would be on _his _turf and the field would be in his favour. It was only a matter of time now...


	11. Waking dead memories

Finally completed Lonesome Road (and I thought Dead Money was difficult!) and got back to writing. Thanks all round again for reviews and favourites.

Echo of an Idiot: I watch far too much of that show and my icon kind of gives it away too. The Cybermen are a big inspiration but not my only one; Wolfenstein and Killzone 2/3 to name a few. Glad I'm doing this right so far for you.

Technocide: I'm trying to stay as close to the games as I can rather than a superhero movie. Hope this part still meets your approval.

**Aberdeen rail tunnel**

As it turned out Sarah's ankle didn't recover as fast as she have liked and the party only travelled part of the way through the tunnel before she was forced to rest again.

"We should camp here for the night," Dan advised. "We can't afford to fight again like this."  
"Damn it!" Sarah cursed herself for her own perceived weakness.

Leon shrugged. "Don't sweat it, Sarah. I think all of us have had enough for one day, don't you think?"

Leon got nods of agreement all round. The last battle had taken it out of everyone and, despite a lot of misgivings about sleeping rough in a rail tunnel, no one wanted to press on in their current state.

Five minutes later the party was rolling out sleeping mats, building a small campfire and setting up camp in one of the old offices adjoining the railway line.

**Two hours later **

"I knew you could cook Dan, but I didn't know you were a super chef!" Kayla joked.

"I'll second that," Sarah agreed. "I've never been so full in years."

Dan had surprised everyone by throwing together a Brahmin and potato stew from the emergency provisions he'd stashed in his pack.

Dan grinned. "You learn a few things when you're a wasteland scout. Besides, you can't keep eating 200 year old canned shit forever."

"Mind if I hit the sack?" Yuna let out a great yawn as she said this.

Sarah nodded. "Go ahead; I'll take the first watch."

"I'll join you," Amata said firmly. She was ever more determined to pull her weight from now on.

"Leon...can we ask you something?" Kayla ventured with a little trepidation.

"Shoot. I had a feeling I'd get a Q&A session from someone sooner or later anyway," Leon replied cynically.

"We're that obvious?" Dan rolled his eyes. "Ok here goes nothing. Last year, do you think things would have gone differently if the Major and us had come to Project Purity?"

Leon considered this for half a minute. "I half wish that had happened. I could have got my dad out alive but...no. Long term it wouldn't have made any difference, Dan. Colonel Hitler and that overinflated bag of microchips would have seen to that. My dad would never have worked with the likes of them. Neither would I come to that."

Dan nodded knowingly. "I guess it is just wishful thinking."

"Hate to tell you this but I don't think your Enclave ever had a chance. Even if I'd never existed that would still be the case."

Everyone raised their eyebrows at that. "You got any solid reasons for that, Leon?" Jake couldn't help asking.

Leon shrugged. "I've got three. One: you waited too long after the war to start your reclaiming. I know you had to wait for the initial high radiation to die down. But 150 to 200 years? By then everyone else consigned America, China and the rest of the old world to the dustbin of history. The name wouldn't get as much as a whoopee do."

"Oh-kay," Dan knew he wasn't going to like the sound of this. "And the second?"  
"Number 2's fairly obvious: your sorry excuse for leadership. That which made America what it was, democracy and liberty and all the rest of it, the Enclave sacrificed first. "

"Hey, don't blame us for that," Kayla protested. "I never liked Autumn any more than the next person."

"I never said I was blaming you," Leon really hadn't meant his words that way. "It's sadly just the way the facts are. Autumn and his ilk treated the Enclave like it was their own personal kingdom where they always got their way. What they wanted, how they wanted, where they wanted and when they wanted. They never stopped to consider that the average wastelander wouldn't give much of a fuck that they were descended from pre war government officials. The Enclave were seen as invaders and they did nothing to counter that impression. Hell, the way most of your troops behaved it was an invasion, and don't get me started on reason number 3; that 'purity' bullshit that Eden spouted."

Dan winced in discomfort despite knowing this was going to come up.

"That crap wasn't just morally reprehensible it was never going to _work_," Leon's voice had got angrier now. "Did Eden and his cronies actually _know _how much mutation was out there after 200 irradiated years? Benign as well as the ghoul and Super Mutant kind? Brotherhood scientists said that if the virus had gone out you'd have turned the place into a graveyard including me!"

"You? You don't look mutated," Jake gasped in surprise.

"I picked it up when I was helping Moira to write her wasteland survival guide. I got heavily irradiated for her research and her 'happy thoughts' cure gave me a benign mutation. I self regenerate whenever I get a very heavy dose of radiation. Plus there's the stuff I got exposed to in the Pitt."

"Most of us didn't know about Eden's plan," Dan said honestly. "Do you really think we'd have gone along with it if we had?"

"You I'd believe that from, anyone else wearing an Enclave uniform? Not so sure." Leon tried to soften his tone. "I don't blame you or anyone in Baltimore Haven, Dan. But the sore truth is that your flag and cause are tainted. Even If I was ready to forgive the Enclave do you really think the Brotherhood or the wasteland will?"

_Damned good question. _Dan pretty much knew the answer already as he remembered the reaction of Lucky Harith and the Brotherhood soldiers back in the wasteland.

Leon got up and headed for his bedroll. "Anyway, I'm going to get some rest. You should too Jake, second watch is ours."

"Right."

**Vault 66 overseer's office**

"Everything is prepared." Not having to rest or sleep and having a big head start Delta had arrived back at Vault 66 already.

"Excellent," Alpha had expected no less and didn't move his eyes from his screen array.

Delta had expected more orders or reaction from Alpha. "If I may ask, is this really wise? Allowing them full access like this? We could take them a lot sooner than we are planning to."

"Yes we could. But if they see our motivations this may make their transition a little easier to take, shall we say?"

Delta wasn't convinced. "I would still advise caution given the main subject is the Lone Wanderer. President Eden no doubt had the same logic and thinking."

"We may be more successful than the Enclave. We did not delete his father after all. But your caution is sound. Activate more units and do whatever is necessary to ensure success."

That had been exactly what Delta wanted to hear. "I will deploy chemical units along with Mesmetrons. This time there will be no failure."

**Wasteland north of Aberdeen rail tunnel**

Leon and his team had made good progress since getting up and moving on that morning. The terrain was very different to the Capital Wasteland, it was a wooded area and the trees were still living, the only enemies they ran across were a few bloatflies. After an hour's walk they were starting to emerge into open grassland.

"This is beautiful!" Amata marvelled at the sights.

"Not too many missiles landed around here," Leon realised. "Unlike DC that got decimated with them."

"And most of the missiles that did hit around here hit Baltimore itself," Dan reasoned. "Never thought anything like this could still exist."

"Or that our friends would base themselves in a place like this," Kayla added.

"Speaking of which..." Leon pointed ahead.

There was a recess in the side of the hills ahead of them and in the recess was the familiar circular shape of a vault door. The number 66 was emblazoned on the front.

"Guns out!" Sarah barked and everyone did just that immediately.

"No guards?" Jake was suspicious and Leon didn't blame him. He'd been vigilant for stealthed cyborgs all morning.

Dan was the first to have the courage to approach the door. "Maybe they're just inside. Get ready!"

He hit the door release and everyone covered the door as the familiar klaxon of an opening vault door sounded and the door swung inwards but no cyborgs charged out once it opened.

They all stayed exactly where they were for 2 minutes but there was still no response.

"Ok, suck it up people, let's go in," Leon finally said with no enthusiasm.

There was no entrance corridor like many other vaults, the door led straight into the reception area. It had no control booth and only one exit door other than the entrance but, unlike many other vaults Leon had been in, it was in pristine condition.

Amata's face gained a very concerned expression. "I don't like the look of this. Where are they all? Are you sure the information was right?"

Leon nodded. "Positive. Vault-Tec never got its records wrong. They're down here somewhere."

"My guess is the bottom," Sarah mused. "According to the logs this is a deep vault, 5 levels, and the conversion chambers were supposed to be in the labs on the 5th level. Shares a similar design to Vault 22 in Nevada that was devoted to plant study."

"Well let's get looking," Dan was getting impatient as he opened the door and started down the corridor toward the elevator section.

"Hold it! Take the stairs," Leon warned. "Getting into that might a good way to get trapped."  
Dan nodded in agreement and headed away for the elevator to the stairs.

**Overseer's office**

A smile played across Alpha's organic face as he saw the party enter the vault on his main monitors. The bait had been taken and soon he would close the trap. It was just a question of how he would do it.

"Hold position for now."

**Level 2 living quarters**

The party's sense of unease only heightened as they descended down the stairs. The living rooms on this level were immaculate; beds made and furniture untouched. It was like a ghost Vault, almost as if the place had never been lived in.

As the party went from empty corridor to empty room and back again Jake's nerves were starting to fray. "Man, I'm telling you we should not be here! Where's Leon gone to?"

"In here." Leon was hacking into a still active terminal in one of the bedrooms.

"What are you looking for in there?" Yuna was a little confused why Leon would start digging into a personal computer.

"Rule no 1 when you're vault exploring: always look at terminals, computers and holotapes," Leon advised. "Hmm, for a personal terminal this is heavy encryption...got it!"  
Leon finally matched the security password and broke through into the main files.

"Ok, what do we have here? Looks like a personal journal."

As soon as the Robco security message passed a list came up on screen.

_Hi Tina_

_Audio Recording: 15__th__ Dec 2077_

_Dairy: 30__th__ Nov 2077_

_Diary: 25__th__ Oct 2077_

_Diary: 30__th__ Sept 2077_

Everyone crowded round as best they could to read what was onscreen. Leon selected the earliest entry first.

_I can hardly believe it. This month has been the scariest and the most exciting of my life! I never thought the war was going to go nuclear, thank God I moved out of Washington three months back. But since then my luck's really taken a turn for the better. Me, Tina Langley, suddenly gets a pre-selected place in a vault and a chance to work with the great Professor Vaughan! What did I do to earn all this? I was just a lowly physics intern down in Baltimore before this; practically a nobody. Now I'm working with one of the greatest minds in cybernetics and robot science of our time. He's kind of cute for an older guy too, hehe. _

_Well that's the upside. The downside is the arrogant SOB who calls himself an Overseer. Seems to think just because he's army and served in Alaska he's 'God here'. What a dick. I don't envy the Professor having to report to him. One thing's for sure, he's not getting any Sirs or Yessirs out of me!_

Leon smirked. "Did your dad have any distant relatives out here, Amata?"

A chuckle went through the group as Amata slugged Leon in the arm.

"According to the file from Vault-Tec Professor Henry Vaughan was the research head in this vault. He was a heavy hitter in science, not as famous as Braun but still one of the best," Sarah mused. "He transferred here from Nevada; used to work at a lab called Big Mountain or something."

Leon opened the October entry.

_It's cooped up but I'm starting to enjoy life here. I was afraid the Professor would be the stuffy sort and full of himself but he is such a nice guy. He actually takes time to talk to all of us individually and encourage us. I've learned more in a month than I ever did back in Baltimore. Without the Professor's guidance and leadership I've no doubt we wouldn't have made half the progress we have now. Vault-Tec really chose this team well. If we keep going I've no doubt our new implants will revolutionise medicine for all time. The Phoenix Monocyte breeder's effects have to be seen to be believed, it's like implanting one of Braun's GECK devices into a human body. We're now going to work on an implant that can reduce radiation. The Professor's really putting his heart and soul into this and I just found out why: He brought his sick son with him into the vault. Poor kid got caught in a heavy radiation zone and despite getting Prussian Blue treatment he's still very ill from complications. Small wonder the Professor doesn't take too many breaks and he's always tired. I wish I could do more to help and I keep telling him so. He says he might take me up on that someday! _

_The only thing in this vault that bugs me, besides the cramped space, is that sorry excuse for an Overseer. What possessed Vault-Tec to assign him here is beyond me, he adds no value to anything. All he seems to do all day is rant and rave at our lack of progress. Lack of progress he says. I've heard Overseers are meant to be a little anal but having one who's deaf, blind and dumb on top of that is a bit much._

_Well the dumb bastard had better rein it in quick or there's going to be trouble before long. I've seen a lot of loud arguments between him and the Professor. The Overseer thinks he's winning them but the looks the Professor keeps giving him behind his back? I hope things settle down soon or I can see a lot of blood on the floor._

"Fascinating," Dan said.

"Not often you see history on a computer screen," Leon agreed. "These medical implants must have been the 'cover function' of the vault like music was for Vault 92. Who was the Overseer here?"

Amata checked her pip-boy to bring up the vault file again. "Just says his name was Robert Chavez. Doesn't say anything beyond that, why?"  
"I bet the reason he was ranting and raving was the lack of progress on the vault's real purpose," Leon explained. "Overseers in this time were Vault-Tec and government lackeys. Being the research head Vaughan must have been involved too. With these experiments things usually things go downhill from here. Shall we read on?"

Leon clicked on November next.

_The shit is really headed for the fan now. Relations between the Professor and the Overseer have gone into the deep freeze. They had a major shouting match the other day; I thought the Professor was going to deck the Overseer; not that the idiot wasn't asking for it. In the end the Professor just blew out of the room down to his private lab on level 5 and no one's seen him since. As if that wasn't enough suddenly people are dying from some mystery disease that's come out of nowhere. There's something real fishy about it. When Frank Harding, my lab partner, didn't show up for work this morning I went to his room to check on him. God was he in a state! He'd been up all night crying his eyes out. He told me he got back to his quarters to find the Overseer waiting to tell him his wife had suddenly died of the disease, but the bastard wouldn't let him see the body, didn't give him any details, nothing! People are scared, they keep looking to me and the rest of the team for answers and I don't have any to give. I've not seen any of the bodies and don't have any information or clue. There are only two people that might and one's down on level 5 all the time and the other isn't talking at all, not that I'd ever consider talking to him otherwise. Well, there's only one option: I'm going to try and get down to level 5 and talk to the Professor. He's the only one who can get us out of this living nightmare._

Leon's face contorted into a scowl. "Mystery disease my ass!"

Sarah looked just as despondent. "Going the usual way isn't it? Too much pressure for results, safeguards get taken off and..."

"...Everything goes into the shitter," Dan finished as he fumed in rage. He couldn't believe he'd worked most of his life for people just like this, people who would allow things like this to happen.

"Last one's an audio file," Leon downloaded it to his Pip-boy and hit play. Even he wasn't ready for the shock this contained. The speaker sounded like a girl in her late teens or early twenties. She was speaking quietly but everyone could tell she was in hysteria verging on breakdown.

"My god...what did we do to deserve this? They all came out of level 5; Will, Tina, Burt, Damon...everyone who was dead of that disease, they're live walking monsters! Their arms and legs and faces are fucking _metal!_ The Professor was leading them; he said we were worthless, obsolete and then they started killing the guards and grabbing everyone else, dragging them away down below. We tried to get to the door but they cut us off, now I'm hiding in here, god please don't let them find me, please don't let them find me!"

That proved a forlorn hope as everyone heard the sound of a door opening in the background. "Target located, preparing for upgrade." A hysterical scream was cut off by the pulse of a Mesmetron firing and the recording terminated.

Everyone stood still in horrified silence for a full minute before Leon stood up and headed for the door.

"Down to Level 5 then."

"Are you nuts?" Yuna was almost shaking in fear.

"This nightmare has to end one way or another, Yuna. Odds are the source is down there and we have to try and take it out. At the very least we need to see if there are any more weaknesses in them. We need to access the master files in the labs and maybe the Overseer's office. Both are on the bottom level. You can take Jake and go back now, no one would blame you."  
Yuna's face hardened as that had the effect Leon was hoping for. "No way. I'm not a coward or a quitter! Let's go."

**Level 5: Administration and Private Labs**

Exploration of levels 3 and 4, ostensibly the research and development areas for the medical implants, proved very limited. Many of the doors were magnetically and/or hermetically sealed and couldn't be accessed at all leaving a lot of areas unexplored which Leon didn't like one bit. However he had no choice but to press on to the lowest level. The stairs led them into a standard Overseer's area with 2 floors, one overlooking the other, and with a window at the end which was the Overseer's office. This time, though, it looked as if the window was blacked out or blocked off as they couldn't see anything through it. That didn't stop Alpha and Delta watching them from inside the office through the black one way glass. Alpha had already locked down the office to prevent any access.

"Bring our squads to full readiness," Alpha ordered.

"At once, do we strike now?"

"Not yet. Let them access the control lab. Then they will be ours."

Leon and the party had descended to the lower floor by now.

"No luck?"  
Dan shook his head. "The Overseer's office is locked down too."

"Let's see if we can get to Vaughan's office then. Hopefully he left some journals too." Leon's disquiet was growing steadily. _This is a trap. They're watching us; I know it!_

Taking the only other corridor out of the main hall they soon came to a large lab room decorated by giant servers, computer arrays and, most importantly, another active terminal.  
"Want to try hacking it this time Amata?" Leon asked.

"Sure!" Amata had to quit once but she nailed the password on her third guess on the second attempt.

"Nice one. Ok what's this one got?"

The listing was a little different this time.

_Project Steelguard research log. Head researcher: H Vaughan_

_Log 1 _

_Log 2_

_Log 3_

_Log 4 _

"No dates this time, go by number?" Amata asked.

"Yeah number 1 first."

_Finally arrived at Vault 66 after a day of Vertibird flight from Nevada. Flew in to a very warm reception from my new research team which is very ironic. If they'd known what I and the other scientists had been responsible for at Big Mountain they wouldn't be singing my praises, they'd be hauling up a scaffold and I'd be willingly putting the rope around my own neck. Experimenting on the Chinese POWs was bad enough but duping and then using those peace protesters as well? I don't know what's happening to this country anymore. Core values of right and wrong seemed to have been jettisoned on a whim and everyone seems blind to it. My old friends at Big Mountain are no exception: seeing science and numbers instead of human beings. They kept dismissing my concerns, "We're just doing our jobs," they kept saying. Those words, or something like them, were used at a place called Nuremberg as I recall. Those people still ended up swinging on the end of a rope for them. _

_Not that I can use this to expunge my own guilt; I know I can't. To coin another old phrase: I'm in too deep to get out now. The only difference between me and Klein or Mobius is that I can perhaps still achieve something tangible with my projects here, not least for my poor son. Tobias is still very ill despite receiving massive anti-radiation treatment. That and my implants have stabilised him for now but he's too weak to receive any more. I must develop better implants and better anti radiation medicine for him to survive. Prussian Blue just staves off the day of reckoning, it doesn't cure, hence the deal with the devil I made here, so to speak. If I have the opportunity to do this and save Tobias then working on developing a cyborg soldier will be a price worth paying. My son should not be punished for my sins and who knows how many more would benefit from this work if it succeeds? My hands are already soaked in blood. If this means they get a little more, so be it. I'm already damned; it might as well be for the right reason._

"So the government and Vault-Tec were employing the equivalent of a war criminal. Great start," Kayla snarled.

"Don't forget it takes one to know one," Leon warned. "The pre-war government was full of that kind, they authorised it all. This Vaughan's a little like my dad was except with a more dubious past."

Amata clicked on number 2.

_This is a lot more difficult than I thought. The implant research is going very well; the team is excellent and hasn't had any difficulties in developing the templates I gave them. Tobias is improving too, a new drug called Radaway has done wonders for lowering his rad count and he is now peacefully sleeping in one of the new 'cold storage' units that we're using for the cyborg candidates. I wish I knew where these came from or who developed them; we never had anything like these at Big Mountain. The word is that they were salvaged from some unknown vehicle near Fort Bannister at Washington. Still, wherever they come from, I couldn't be more pleased with the results._

_Unfortunately things aren't going so well on the cyborg project. The quality of the sedatives given to us isn't great and nor were the recent attempts at full conversion as a result. It's hard enough upgrading a human being into a cyborg but doing it at speed is impossible. Even if this time limit problem doesn't cause mistakes on my part the sedative usually wears off halfway through and I don't have time to administer another dose before the subject awakens, becomes fully aware of what has happened to them, and dies of blood loss or sheer horror and shock. I've lost 15 subjects this way so far but I think I have a way around this problem, using hypnosis via Mesmetron application, to keep the subjects docile until the procedure is completed; I must try that with the next few subjects I get (along with limited cryogenic freezing to staunch bleeding and medical implants to boost subjects' constitution) . I'm almost certain I'm close to perfecting the procedure to the point we'll have no mistakes or deaths at all. _

_The biggest problem, however, is the fool that Vault-Tec assigned here as Overseer. I'm certain that if I cut off his head, he'd still have as much brain as he has now! No doubt he was assigned here to get him out of the way of somebody important higher up the command chain at Mariposa; they should have dumped him into an early grave and saved us all a lot of pain. The man cares nothing for our work here, just his own insecurities over his career prospects, which of course are looking none too promising. It is precisely for this reason I haven't told him about most of my recent breakthroughs; I simply don't trust him. His lectures on my duty to the United States and Vault-Tec I can take but I will not have him try to abuse my work or steal it from under me. He seems to think he 'owns' me but I already have several contingencies in place. I might just have to start putting them and a few more into place. This relationship is going to go sour sooner or later and I must be ready when it does..._

"Not a good situation," Leon guessed.

Amata, very eager to get more information, clicked on log 3 immediately.

_My process is foolproof; I can create cyborgs at 100% success rate now. That much is fortunate, the flimsy disease cover story the Overseer made isn't holding water anymore. I had to sedate an overcurious Tina Langley and put her in the stasis pods when she accessed the conversion chambers and saw too much. She's too valuable to me so I'll hold her here until I refine my process further. At the moment the cyborgs are coming out as little more than drones. Stronger, tougher and more durable they are but, without orders and leadership, they're not much in the active thinking department. Miss Langley is young, bright, very eager to learn from me and deserves better than just that. I'll keep her on ice despite the Overseer's preferences otherwise .  
My cyborgs are the perfect workforce. They don't get tired or need to sleep and due to their fission power cells they won't need much power recharging in the near future. With them and the tools I 'appropriated' from the maintenance and repair bays, they did a better job of tunnelling and building than worker ants. They dug out of the back of the conversion chambers and into a huge open cavern. I only wanted to test their strength and have them create a little more storage space but I now have my own private way out of the vault. But, even if I wanted to escape, I'm not sure if the surface is safe yet. Given the amount of missiles China fired at us I rather doubt it._

_As I predicted the 'Overjoke' is getting worse by the day, threatening to assume control of the whole project himself. Keeping my successes from him was the right choice; the cyborgs are more than just tools or toy soldiers which is all a man like him would see them as. I must keep working and create a new generation of cyborg: one that retains all its memories, intelligence and sentience. I'm close, I can feel it! I will succeed. I MUST succeed!_

"Is it just me or is he starting to lose it?" Kayla was now getting chills reading these journals.

"If he hadn't already," Leon winced. "But you're right. Trying to save his son, keeping his project secret and his past guilt...I think he was starting to go over the edge."

Amata didn't entirely want to open the last entry but she did.

_Everything is falling apart. I knew I couldn't trust that bastard or his Mariposa puppetmasters. I found out the truth when I hacked his private console; he's planning to raid my lab with his guards in two days and take everything! To keep me in line he will order them to kill my son if I try to resist...enough is enough! I have withstood insults and degrading treatment but threatening my son and my new children? I am NEVER letting this stand._

_I've locked down my lab and the chambers. It should buy me and my children enough time for what I must do. I have completed the template for the next generation of cyborg but I haven't had time to test it and I'm not going to get it now. So I have no choice: I will instruct my cyborgs in the operation of the converters and the upgrade process and then I shall have them upgrade me. If all goes as I theorised I shall emerge with all my memories and intelligence intact...and as the first of a new improved race. If this works, my son and others can be elevated in the same way._

_Overseer Chavez and his ilk were the cause of this world's ills, I was a fool not to see this sooner. If they are the disease then my children and I shall be the cure. Chavez seemed to think he was 'god' here. I will soon challenge him for that title and this god will not be merciful or forgive his sins. His time and his precious America's time are done. Now it is my time..._

"Holy shit..." Dan's words pretty much summed it up as they stared at the screen in horror.

"The god complex got so infectious he tried to turn himself into one," Sarah realised.

Leon nodded. "Safe to say he succeeded, in becoming a cyborg that is. We know that from the recording upstairs. But what happened after that and who or what is sending these cyborgs out now?"

"Leon!"Yuna was shaking in fear and pointing behind them.

They all whirled round to see that a section of the far wall had dropped down to reveal a screen and the form of Alpha on it.

Leon clenched his hands into tight fists. _Shit, it is a trap and I think we just sprung it._

"Greetings Lone Wanderer. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

"A sentient cyborg?" Jake noted in alarm.

"Had to be something like that," Leon reasoned. "I take it you're their leader?"

"Correct. My designation is Alpha, the commander and creator of the cyborg race."

Leon's mouth fell open as he realised what that meant and he was lost for words.

Alpha didn't waste time. "I have only one request: surrender immediately."

"And why would we do a stupid thing like that?" Dan snapped.

Alpha's organic face broke into a smile, a bone chilling sight. "Because you have no choice in the matter."

The view on the screen changed to that of the area below the Overseer's office. It was now packed solid with standard and Devastator cyborgs. They'd all been hiding in the 'sealed off' rooms on levels 3 and 4.

"As I said you have no choice," Ex-Professor Henry Vaughan aka Alpha coldly informed them. "I do not wish you deleted but I will if the need comes to it. This can be easy and painless or it can easily be the opposite. What shall it be Lone Wanderer?"


	12. Promise kept but mission failed

Given Alavon and a few others were really wanting another part I fast tracked this specially.

Billy Bob 2010: Glad you like it so far. I wish I got 8 reviews every time I put up a new part : ) Anyway peace out and thanks for all the reviews!

Enclave Supporter: I don't much like the Outcasts and West Coast BOS or Elijah much either. But if you wanted pro-Enclave you're in the wrong fic. In my humble opinion your end description (scumbags) fit Autumn and the Enclave perfectly. The swastika would be more appropriate for them than the stars and stripes.

Alavon: Sorry writer's perk, right? Anyway your wait is over for this cliffhanger. I love being evil as you put it though :)

Geraldford: Nice to see your great ideas still coming. You've come very close to the plot this time...

**Control Lab**

"What will it be? Did you expect anything else besides this?" Leon raised his Metal Blaster and blew the screen to bits, quickly followed up with the camera in the corner.

Sarah wasted no time. "Shit! Help me build a barricade, anything we can use for protection!"

Sarah and Dan started tipping over the hard drives and desks across the two doorways that led back into the corridors. But, of course, that left only one way out according to the map: through the conversion chambers. Everyone else started arming their guns and taking cover behind their makeshift barricades. Leon was mentally ripping himself apart. _I KNEW I should have come by myself! We're bottled in and I can't watch my back and everyone else's at the same time...oh shit!_

**Overseer's Office**

"No, I suppose I didn't," Alpha smiled at Leon's response. In truth, on some level, he'd have been more than a little disappointed if Leon had just given up. He overrode the outer door controls on the control lab and zoomed in with the hall cameras.

"Barricades across the doors; that was to be expected," Delta said.

"Indeed. Test their defences; send in some secondary drone units."

"Not the Devastators?" Delta asked with some surprise.

"In a chess game the pawns are deployed first," Alpha replied coldly. "We can more than afford some losses. Let them get overconfident and then we make our _real _moves..."

**Control Lab**

"Surrender immediately!"

"Shit, they're coming already!" Dan opened up with his plasma rifle and decapitated the lead drone as it came into view. Standard drone cyborgs were filling up both corridors but these quickly turned into killing grounds. The team's laser and plasma fire had a longer range than the Mesmetrons the drones were equipped with so most never even got off a shot. Leon and co also had cover and the cyborgs didn't. 2 short minutes after the corridors were strewn with the bodies of 15 cyborgs and the flow seemed to stop.

"Hah! We cut them to pieces!" Jake punched the air in jubilation.

"Are you fucking kidding?" Leon snarled in rebuke. "They only sent light armed stuff. That was just a probe. Now that they know we can fight them they're going to make us wish we didn't."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. "And now they know the light stuff doesn't work they'll send in the heavy so stay frosty!"

**Overseer's Office**

"That was somewhat predictable and unproductive," Delta wasn't happy at the result.

Alpha disagreed. "Quite the reverse. Their power cells are finite, unlike our patience, and you have to build up a little false hope before you can destroy it. They're strong as a team unit and they have superior position. Time to make them forfeit both: deploy the launchers."

**Control Lab**

"How long before they try again?" Amata was getting a little nervous after ten minutes waiting.

"Soon I'd think," Leon replied without looking up from his gun sight.

"This sitting around is driving me nuts!" Yuna sighed.

"Hate to say it but it's called war of nerves and that's what it's supposed to do," Dan chided gently.

"I just wish we could go out and take the fight to them!" Kayla was getting a little stir crazy too.

Leon wasn't keen. "Not a great idea but what's behind us isn't either."

"We might have to take that way Leon before they try something els...what?"

Sarah's sentence got cut off by 2 metal projectiles flying over their heads and hitting the far wall. Thick reddish smoke began to hiss out of them into the air.

"Something like that?" Leon muttered. Gas and chemical attacks were something that they had no protection against. "Hold your breath and follow me! We've got no choice now."

**Overseer's Office**

"Excellent. Move in now!" Alpha ordered another push as the party fled from the barricade toward the conversion chambers.

"But they can still do the same in the conversion area," Delta argued.

"Only if we allow it. I've installed a few more defences which will make our job a lot easier. You should go and join our squad; they will need your leadership. "

"At once." Delta armed his combat protocols and left with grim determination.

Alpha turned back to his screen array and brought up the cameras overlooking the conversion chambers. He couldn't isolate any of the doors in there; they were all designed to be controlled locally by him back in his vault days to prevent the Overseer from interfering. The automated turrets he'd put in there were another matter however...

**Conversion chambers**

Unlike Vault 87 the machinery needed for cybernetic upgrades was a lot more complex and bulkier so they needed a lot more space. That fact was plain to the team as they emerged into an area the size of several football fields and housing many metal dome shaped structures, more than the team could quickly count. In fact there were about 50, clustered around an even larger one in the centre.

Leon quickly stole a look inside the nearest. All that was inside was a medical gurney, complete with restraints, and an Auto-Doc type machine that certainly wasn't used for healing purposes. Not unless you considered drills, electric saws, arc welders, jackhammers and industrial laser cutters healing tools.

"Leon, where now?" Jake's panicky voice jerked Leon back to the present. "They're coming after us and I don't see a way out!"

"There's one in here somewhere. Vaughan's journal said so; remember he said they dug a way into a cavern at the back of this place? That's our way out."

Sarah grinned. "Works for me, let's move."

However they'd no sooner entered a walkway and passed no more than a couple of domes before the floor ahead of them started to elevate. Sarah's blood chilled as she saw exactly what was coming out of the ground.

"Cover! Laser turrets!"

Everyone just managed to dive into cover between the domes before red orange laser beams filled the walkway. Leon cursed under his breath. They certainly couldn't rush three turrets in this confined space but staying put was suicide.

Kayla knew this too but came up with another idea. "Let's find another way around, come on."  
Jake and Yuna quickly dodged across the walkway and followed Kayla down another one.

"NO! Wait, we need to stay together!" Leon shouted after them.

Too little too late though, as this had just been what Alpha had been looking for. With a touch of a button he activated another set of turrets directly behind Kayla's team and they were forced to run hell for leather away from the turrets and their friends.

**Overseer's Office**

Alpha smirked. This had gone better than he'd planned. Leon's new friends were nowhere near as capable as Leon himself as events had just proved.

He opened a radio channel. "Delta, everything went as I hoped. I've carved their forces in two. The Lone Wanderer and 3 others are trapped near pod 8. The remaining three are headed towards 32. I suggest you intercept them first. Good hunting."

By now Delta had reached the access corridor with a platoon of Devastators and another primary cyborg. Her name had been Tina Langley and she'd been a very attractive girl once. Now her designation was Iota and she served as a lead scientist of the cyborg race. Her once beautiful face was marred by the usual metal plate and red eye on one side and the rest of her body was clad in blue lacquered cyborg power armour.

"Engage your stealth unit," Delta ordered her. "The rest of the squad will remain here until further orders. Leave the Lone Wanderer for now. We'll take the others first and see how he reacts..."

**Conversion chambers**

Kayla's splinter group was having the worst day of their lives. They'd had to run through several blocks of domes to evade the turrets only to run headlong into another set and get pinned down again in separate alcoves. Now they were stuck taking pot shots out at the turrets while trying to think of a way back to the others. Simply put it wasn't working. But things were about to get a lot worse.

Delta and Iota had sneaked over the top of one of the domes and were now looking down on them with some amusement and more disdain. _And here I thought this was going to be difficult. _

Delta decloaked and leapt off the dome with the grace of a dancer. His landing was perfect, coming down right next to a startled Yuna who had no time to dodge away from him. She tried to turn her gun on him but he just swatted it away and next thing she knew she was in the air and being held by the throat in Delta's right fist.

"YUNA! Don't you DARE hurt her!" Jake had glanced back just in time to see Yuna's horrifying situation.

"Ah, one organic in love with another. How convenient for me," Delta's face had curled into a sneer. "Surrender at once or I snap her feeble neck with one twist!"

"You metal bastard!" Jake was trying hard to stop himself from crying but he knew the situation was hopeless. Yuna was the love of his life and he couldn't sacrifice her. He slung his gun aside with a scream of frustration.

"Good choice," Delta said with a smile. "One you will appreciate soon."

He raised his other arm, which had a Mesmetron attached, and snapped off a blue pulse that caught Jake straight between the eyes and sent him into a dazed stupor.

"You call yourselves superior?" Kayla was shaking with anger. "Using kids to fight your battles?"

"Why not?" Delta snorted contemptuously. "Your pathetic pre war government did that all the time. She bores me, Iota. Take her!"  
Iota wasted no time in obliging as she raised her Mesmetron and soon Kayla was joining Jake in mindlessly swaying on her feet.

Yuna was crying her eyes out as she hopelessly struggled in Delta's grip.

"Don't worry," Delta turned his attention back to her."You'll be joining them soon enough."

_Oh no not again!_

Yuna's thought was cut off by another Mesmetron pulse and everything descended into a haze...

**Overseer's Office**

"Excellent work, both of you," Alpha congratulated them over the radio.

"Our victory is now assured now that we have these three," Delta replied confidently.

"Do not be so certain. The three you have mean very little to the Lone Wanderer. He may sacrifice them if it means he stays free to win. His Brotherhood friends may think the same way."

"I understand. I still think we should 'inform' them of our success shall we say? It might make them a little more careless if nothing else."  
"Very well," Alpha conceded with some misgiving. "Bring them to the central converter when you've done that. I shall perform these upgrades myself."

"Complying!"

**Conversion chambers**

Leon had finally dug the team out of their turret problem by cloaking and then stealth sniping each one in turn. Now he was struggling to keep up with a very frantic Dan who was running down after the others like there was no tomorrow. Suddenly he pulled up sharply to a halt, his face gaining a horrified expression.

Other cyborgs had arrived from the corridor and were carrying Yuna, Jake and Kayla over their shoulders toward the central dome with Delta and Iota coldly observing and waiting for them to show up.

Leon took one look and knew what the situation was instantly: hopeless.

"Oh shit! The bastards have got them!" Dan was readying his rifle but Leon and Sarah were having none of it, grabbing him and pulling him away.

"Forget it! Move; we've got to go!" Leon screamed harshly at him.

Amata was aghast. "But Leon..."  
"Forget them, they're gone!" Leon's harsh tone brooked no argument. "We'll do them no good by getting nailed ourselves!"

Delta grinned coldly and cruelly at Dan's reaction. "Take them."

More cyborgs started to emerge from around the domes. No more light drones either, Leon noticed, these were heavily armed Devastators.

All Leon and his remaining team could do was run for their lives toward the back of the chamber...

**Overseer's Office**

Alpha was starting to feel some concern and he was no longer smiling. As he'd feared, Delta's move had riled the Lone Wanderer's team and upped their determination. He'd tried blocking them with more turrets but the advantage of surprise was gone; Leon and co were half expecting them now and just blasted them when they came out of the floor before they could deploy.

Alpha knew he couldn't stop them short of the cavern exit now. He had to rely on Delta and his squads reaching them before they could crack the code on the locked door and escape.

"Delta, tell your squads to hurry up. They're almost at the cavern door!"

"We're almost there ourselves. We will engage soon, do not worry."  
Alpha was bringing up the camera views of the cavern exit door and then suddenly remembered what _else _was controlled from there, namely the console for the power regulators on the conversion chambers. If the Lone Wanderer accessed that and figured out its function...Alpha suddenly had a feeling he'd not felt in centuries: raw fear.

"Iota! Get to the central converter and the secondary command console immediately!"

**Conversion chambers**

The party's luck was finally beginning to turn around. After blasting through 3 more turret sets they'd reached the end wall and had stumbled across an exit door. But there was a very hard encryption lock on it and Amata was struggling to break it.

Leon knew they didn't have much time. "I'll take over, cover me!"  
Dan, Sarah and Amata covered one walkway each as Leon tried to break the code at speed. They didn't have to wait long for some targets as Devastators and drones came into view and started firing. Dan blew off the first one's head in rage and kept firing like a madman. Sarah and Amata were more calm and precise and scored two drone kills each.

"Hurry up!" Sarah was getting frantic. "We can't hold them forever!"  
"I know!" Leon screamed back.

_Damn, I hate these very hard ones! Almost there...got it!_

"I'm in. Hang on!"

Leon was in for a surprise when he broke through the code and saw the screen

_1 Open Cave Access_

_2 Initiate Neutron Purge_

Leon, being a science geek like his father, quickly put 2 and 2 together. The purge program must have been a failsafe for the research head in the event of things getting out of control. If he initiated this it would send a neutron pulse through the chambers and reduce all the electronics in them to scrap. If it functioned properly he could destroy all the conversion chambers and end this threat all at once!

Thinking quickly he opened the door first and then rebooted the console to initiate the purge.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Dan shouted between shots. "Let's go!"  
"Not till I avenge our friends," Leon shouted back. "I'm blowing this room to hell!"  
However on getting back in and selecting the purge Leon hit another snag.

_Purge process initiated. Power building: 3:00 to required level._

"Damn it!"

"What's the holdup?" Sarah managed to ask while firing and ducking.

"It needs to fucking charge! We've got to hold for 3 more minutes!"

**Overseer's Office**

Alpha's face was horrified as the status reports came across his computer screen. Leon had initiated the purge and it couldn't be overridden or shut down by any means except the console it had been started from, namely Leon's. That left him only one option.

"Iota, are you in position at the central converter?"  
"Confirmed."  
"Good. Access the secondary command console. Go to the power controls and isolate as many converters as you can from the main reactor, cut off the power access altogether. Do that and the purge will not reach their circuits!"  
"Complying."

Alpha could have almost sighed in relief as Iota started her work and isolated the central converter first. He knew she couldn't save all the chambers but she could limit the damage. Then he realised that the purge being activated would enable _another _system at the central converter where Iota was working. His smile returned. There might still be some recompense in the situation yet.

"Iota, stop for now and reinitialise the console. Access the emergency system menu."  
"Understood." Iota was a little confused by Alpha's actions but did as she was told. Her confusion disappeared when she saw the readout.

_Neutron purge has been initiated. Activate emergency lockdown Y/N?_

Iota broke into a smile herself as she hit the Y key...

**Cavern door**

Things were really heading south. Leon was down to firing his backup plasma pistol. A cyborg had scored a lucky shot on Amata's rifle and fused it beyond repair, forcing Leon to toss his Metal Blaster to her.

The cyborgs were increasing in number and were pressing in on their position and the team knew they couldn't go much longer.

"Keep holding, just one more minute!" Leon tried to rally his friends but, in doing so, he lapsed in concentration allowing a Devastator a clean laser shot that slammed straight into his thigh. The shot's force blew him back into the wall leaving him dazed.

"Leon!"

Leon didn't have time to respond to Sarah. He had barely struggled to his feet when he got hit again in the same leg and he crashed to the ground.

Sarah, now pissed off, flung herself in front of Leon and held down the trigger on her rifle. Her fusillade of shots turned the cyborg that'd crippled Leon into smoking flesh and scrap metal.

"Oh god, Leon's hit bad!" Sarah dragged him out of the walkway into the relative safety near the console. Leon was gritting his teeth trying to ignore the pain as he nursed his crippled leg. Then things _really _hit the shitter as an alarm klaxon sounded and an automated message followed.

"Emergency containment lockdown has been activated. All exits will seal on purge activation in 40 seconds!"

Leon and Sarah looked at each other in horror as they knew what this meant. But Leon's face quickly hardened.

"I'll never make it in time. Sarah, take them and go. I'll cover you as long as I can."  
"Leon, NO!" Amata screamed, tears streaming down her face. "I can't leave you!"

"Amata, go! I promised your dad to keep you safe. Dan, get her out of here."

Dan tossed a grenade down the walkway to give himself cover and grabbed Amata from behind into a bear hug. He dragged her through the door as she screamed in anguish all the while.

"No more words. Go now!"

Sarah bit back tears of her own as she did just that, laying down as much fire as she could before she fled through the door. Leon fired shot after shot from his pistol as she did, trying to buy as much time as he could so the system would activate.

Ten seconds later he succeeded. The door slammed closed and the purge fired sending a pulse through the systems. But, to Leon's dismay, the circuits on only 20 chambers overheated and blew up instead of the lot. Leon had no time to dwell on that before his gun arm was hit by a plasma round that seemed to come out of nowhere until Delta decloaked a few steps away.

"After all you have done I'm not having our great prize self delete!" Delta's organic face was a blur of emotions. Anger and rage but above all: admiration. "Commander Alpha was right about you. You've done us more damage than anyone else in over 2 centuries. You truly are exceptional and it will be good to have you alongside us."  
Delta gave Leon no chance to reply as he raised his Mesmetron arm and sent Leon into instant hypnosis.

"Delta, report!"

"Get his wounds healed and take him to the central chamber," Delta ordered his squad before he answered Alpha's radio call. "We've lost 40% of our conversion capacity and three of them have escaped us but the Lone Wanderer is down and contained."

"Excellent! Meet me at the central converter. We have a momentous event to prepare."

"What of the remaining three? Should I try and pursue into the caverns?"

"For the moment they are unimportant. We know where they are retreating to and they can't stop what is to come. Make sure our guests are properly prepared. I'm coming down."

"At once." Delta allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. They had taken many losses and setbacks but the result had been more than worth it: the Lone Wanderer had fallen...


	13. Cyber Wanderer

Finally after a lot of rewrites and pain this part is done. Thanks for all the reviews; I'd never dreamed I'd get this many. Special thanks to Nukeit101 for some good suggestions for this part, without them I'd be stuck 3000 words or so back.

Bezerkoid: I keep wondering if people will pick up on that though my icon gives a good hint.

Sentinel Roland Black BOS: I do try to keep the grammar as good as I can make it as I hate poor grammar in fics too. I'm dead set on finishing this and writing more but I don't think I can do 2 fics at a time. I find one hard enough.

Zeref Alemer: You've definitely got a point and given me something to think about there. Maybe something I could use in the next part.

Amora: Glad you like it so far and you're right about the LW :) Keep going with your fic too; it has a lot of promise.

AIRBORNE: Nice idea...but he's already down. I know he's sort of invincible from Lvl 20 in F3 (not in NV when you meet super Deathclaws though) but I try to keep it as realistic as possible. Things on this front are about to change for the LW though...

**Cave just outside NW Baltimore **

Sarah, Dan and Amata didn't run into any more trouble in their escape as the cave had been completely uninhabited and the cyborgs showed no sign of pursuit. Before they knew it they were running out of the cave into the afternoon sun. Amata was barely holding back the tears; she couldn't believe they'd just abandoned Leon like that. Dan wasn't doing much better; he'd lost his trusted partner and childhood friend and, worse still, both Yuna and Jake were gone too. He quickly looked around to see where they actually were and soon realised they'd come through the hills altogether and were close to the Baltimore ruins. A Vertibird could be here in just a few minutes and he reached for his hand radio with that in mind.

Sarah was trying to steel up Amata. "Amata, reload and do an ammo count. We'll need everything we've got if we're going back in."  
"Going back?" Amata sounded half hopeful and half scared.

"Damn right!" Sarah snapped. "I'm never leaving the best soldier I've ever known to those things!"  
"No argument from me." Dan rejoined them as he put his radio away. "I can't go back as things are now. If Jim doesn't bust a cap in my head for me losing his daughter the Major certainly will for Kayla. But we need to wait for a few minutes. I've called for backup."

"How much backup?" Sarah asked eagerly.

"Both our remaining Vertibirds and 4 of our best troops in each. They're an elite Sigma type squad we've been putting together, perfect for something like this. Punch in hard, we get them back and we get out."

Amata suddenly seemed to regain her spirit. "You make it sound easy."

"It's never going to be that but if we can't do it with these guys then we never will. If they bring all the gear I asked them to they'll be here in about half an hour."

"Hope that's soon enough," Sarah thought grimly. "Amata, scout back in the cave while we wait. Make sure they're not coming out after us. We've only got one shot at this so let's do it right."  
Amata nodded and re-entered the cave with determination burning in her eyes.

Dan waited until she was gone before turning back to Sarah. "Doc Farnsworth is coming out too, just in case of...complications. We both know what those metal pricks have got planned."  
Sarah nodded. "As I said let's hope it's soon enough. If any of them get turned and we have to put them down..."  
"I hope to god it never gets that far," Dan replied seriously. "I don't know if I could live with myself!"

**Central conversion chamber**

Dan's fears were more than justified. Everyone else had been moved to the central dome and was secured inside.

"Kayla? Are you awake?"

Kayla was groggily coming around to the sound of Jake's voice. Her vision hadn't entirely cleared; all she could see was a blurred outline and Jake's voice, which seemed to be quieter than usual. It took two more minutes for her vision and the reasons for all that to become clear.

They were in a plain, sterile circular room with one access door, one computer console and what looked like a cargo lift just in front of that. Jake was strapped into a modified medical gurney in a near vertical position. He was restrained with metal clamps by his hands, ankles and across the neck. He was trying desperately to look away from her and, once her brain and eyes kicked back in properly, working out why wasn't too difficult: she was secured in a similar fashion and all her clothes had been removed!

She turned her head as much as she was able to look around fully. Yuna was just waking up to her left and Leon was alongside Jake opposite doing the same. All were secured to gurneys and, like her, not a stitch in sight. Kayla, blushing furiously, shut her eyes and tried to stop the inevitable flow of 'hot' thoughts that crossed her mind on seeing Jake and Leon's exposed forms. Jake was having an even worse time on this: one of his biggest dreams had been seeing Yuna naked but he'd been hoping for a more romantic setting.

"Jake I'm so sorry," Yuna quietly said through sniffles. "It was because of me they caught you and..."  
"Don't say that Yuna! I could never have let that thing break your neck," Jake replied forcefully.

"He's right. If there's any blame it's with me," Kayla chided herself. "I shouldn't have split off from the group."

"What's done is done," Leon said firmly hoping to cut off this topic fast. "Sarah and the others got away. There's still hope."

"Not much of it. Have you seen where we are?" Kayla's voice was now full of fear. "No wonder they took our clothes off. We must be inside the..."

"I know," Leon felt the same and was trying hard not to show it.

Before he could say anything else the door opened to admit Alpha, Delta and three drone cyborgs.

Alpha gave out one of his cold smiles. "You'll have to forgive the temporary discomfort. But I can't risk you damaging yourselves before your upgrade..."

White hot rage flared through Yuna at Alpha's words and the sight of one of the drones: one that had formerly been her close friend Abby Smith. "Upgrade? Into what, a mindless tin can? Look at them; you might as well have just killed them!"

It wasn't hard to see what she meant. Abby showed no sign of recognising her old friends; she just stared straight coldly ahead in her coal black cybernetic armour like a statue.

Alpha was unfazed. "Not everyone can be as exceptional as you and your friends here and as such they aren't worthy of primary upgrade."

"Still playing at god, Vaughan?" Leon taunted. If looks could kill he would have been responsible for Alpha's instant death.

"Professor Vaughan? You're not talking...?" Jake and his human friends were stunned.

"Yeah, these cyborgs aren't descended from the original vault dwellers. They _are _the originals! You've just met one of the authors of those 200 year old journals."

"Your friends have met two," Alpha informed them with relish. "Iota's old designation was Tina Langley as I recall and, need I remind you, my designation is now Alpha."  
Kayla shuddered as she remembered the female cyborg who'd blasted her.

"Well Vaughan, Alpha or whatever you call yourself now," Leon spat. "I'm standing with my friends. Just put a bullet or laser through our heads and be done with it. I'd sooner have that than be a metal nobody the rest of my life."

"Now you disappoint, Lone Wanderer. You don't think I went to all this trouble to render you a secondary drone did you? You're worth far more than that."

Leon's heart sank. "You wanted me because I'm a symbol to the Capital Wasteland, is that it?"

"Partly. But also your abilities. You had no formal training and yet you defeat everything that the Capital Wasteland throws at you. You endure things that would break most others, physically and mentally. Just over a year ago the Capital Wasteland was a cesspit of fear with no hope and virtually no future and now look at it. It still needs a lot of work but you are the one that made it all possible."

Leon snorted. "You're giving me too much credit. Without the Brotherhood..."

"You would have never got rid of the Enclave, yes I know. But you were the driving force. Without you and your father's work do you seriously think everything would have played out the way it did? You don't give yourself enough credit, Lone Wanderer. I, for one, am personally indebted to you for ridding this world of the last pre-war relics."

Leon raised his eyebrows. "That sounded almost personal. Your past catching up with you?"

"If you had experienced what my previous self had you would not be asking that," Alpha replied with a little acid in his tone. "He was much like your father, only trapped into a career with methods he never approved of or wanted. He was forced to do things that would have sickened most soldiers. Even someone like you would have been corrupted just as he was."

Leon's eyes narrowed hard as he listened to Alpha's words. Something was wrong with the language Alpha was using but he couldn't put his finger on it. "So why do all this now? Your vengeance is directed at people who are 200 years dead and burning in hell."

"Without a doubt," Alpha said caustically. "And thanks to you they now have plenty of company. But it is up to me to ensure it never occurs again and once our great elevation of humanity is complete it never will."  
"How's that going to work?" Leon didn't bother hiding his sarcasm. "Turning everyone into cyborgs with you as a metal emperor?"

"Not at all. Why do you think I elevated others to be like myself? Ruling alone for the sake of power was never my goal; my old self saw all too well what happens when you concentrate power in the hands of one or a small group of fools. I have a great scientific mind but I'm not arrogant or presumptuous enough to think that I have all the qualities to lead the world. You, and others like you, do. This is why I sought you out. If I elevate the best of humanity and process the less worthy masses we will finally achieve a race that isn't politically obsessed or bent on self destruction."

Leon was horrified by Alpha's calm words. _'Process the less worthy masses'? Fucking hell, this guy's no better than Eden with this elitist shit! _

"Anyway we have delayed for long enough. Delta, remove that," Alpha pointed to Leon's pip boy. Delta quickly unsnapped it from Leon's wrist and passed it to one of the drones who took it out. "You'll have it back once the upgrade is complete. Welcome to the cyborg race, Lone Wanderer."

Leon was struggling against his restraints and sweating in panic as Alpha produced a syringe full of red-orange liquid.

"You need not fear, you won't feel anything, and once this is done you will be reborn and superior to all else."

With that Alpha injected the serum into Leon's upper arm and motioned to Delta who went over to the console and tapped in a few signals which released Leon's restraints. Leon, however, was in no position to take advantage. He was light headed, his vision was blurring and every sound seemed to echo through his head. He could feel the serum flow through his veins; it wasn't painful but it felt like his whole body was heating up.

Alpha smiled in satisfaction. "It will only be two minutes before it takes full effect. Move him into position."

The remaining drones started wheeling Leon's gurney onto the cargo lift.

"What did you do?" Kayla asked fearfully as Leon was elevated through onto the next floor out of sight.

"Simply the necessary preparation for the new upgrade," Alpha calmly told her. "I developed that serum myself. It will boost his endurance and constitution to maximum efficiency. Now I must leave. As I said you need not fear this process and I will try not to keep you waiting longer than I have to but this upgrade is a special case."  
None of them took any comfort in that 'reassurance'. All three had never been more afraid in their lives...

**Central conversion chamber control room**

Alpha and Delta hurried up to the second floor of the dome as fast as they could go to meet Iota and another blue armoured primary cyborg scientist; designation Chi. She had been Lauren Williams, the vault's medic, once. Now she was the cyborg nominally in charge of all cybernetic upgrades but today she would be just assisting.

Leon's dazed form had been elevated into a larger version of the rooms in the standard domes. It resembled a grand operating room in a hospital with the control room having a perfect view through an overhead one way window. Directly above him was the Auto-Doc style upgrade machinery waiting to power into action.

"Is everything prepared?" Alpha was straight to business.

"All is ready Commander," Chi replied promptly. "We can begin anytime."

"Very well, take position at metallic controls and cryogenics. Iota, you will monitor vital functions. Delta and I will do the rest."

All 4 cyborgs manned the consoles overlooking the 'operating theatre'.

"The serum has taken full effect," Iota noted from the computer readouts though it was also obvious from one look at Leon's physique. His body and muscles had beefed up considerably and, if he'd still had his pip boy, his endurance rating would have read a perfect ten.

"Then we can begin. Make sure he stays as he is now. Mesmetron: double application," Alpha wasn't going to take any risks.

Leon was starting to come round from the mutagen serum's side effect when the tool arms animated and took up positions around him. He had enough just enough time to register this before one of the arms, holding a Mesmetron, descended in front of his face and shot him with a blue beam straight into his head. As he slumped back onto the gurney Iota hit him with another shot to be certain but she need not have worried. His eyes had folded up back into his skull and he was totally out of it.

"Monitor his vitals closely," Alpha ordered before turning to Delta. "Start the implant process now. Cut him open."

Delta powered up the arm holding an industrial laser cutter and soon it was slicing into Leon's lower torso.

**Cavern entrance**

Outside the Enclave elite back up team, led by Lieutenant Thomas Severance, had arrived.

"Good to see you again, Dan," the well built blond 32 year old Lieutenant greeted. "Wish it were under better circumstances."  
"You and me both," Dan agreed. "You're up to speed and fully briefed?"  
"Yeah we are. We came up with a quick plan whilst we were coming but it carries quite a bit of risk for the one chosen to go in first."  
"How's that?" Sarah asked with Amata tagging along behind.

Severance was blunt. "Whoever it is needs to get to the main reactor and sabotage it so their main power is taken offline. Not only that but it needs to be done in stealth. Any detection early on and I'd say this was mission impossible from what you told us."

Dan nodded. "What are the specifics?"  
In response Severance brought out a stack of stealth boys. "Someone sneaks in using these. The reactor has to be sabotaged and/or blown up, depending on possibility."

"I don't think this one can be blown up that easily," Amata said. "From what I saw of the vault plans direct access is right at the bottom on a sub level underneath the labs and there's only one way in or out. But the cooling systems...I think we could get to those."

"Go on. What did you have in mind?"

"Stanley taught me that all vaults are vulnerable to this," Amata explained. "If the cooling system is damaged or taken offline for too long then the reactor will overheat and blow the entire vault. The primary console for that is at the engineering station on the lab and Overseer level."

Dan was really starting to like the sound of this. "So if we sabotaged that then we could win this in one stroke?"  
Amata shook her head. "Not likely. There is a backup system on the reactor itself but it takes awhile to kick in and primary power's taken offline automatically as a safety measure when that happens."

"How long for?" Severance asked.

"Depending on how efficient the system is? Ten minutes at best; probably five at worst."

Severance's face broke into a smile. "For what we need that could work."

Sarah agreed with that. The Enclave team was better armoured and armed than they had been on their ill fated trip. If they were anything like the Pride and there weren't too many cyborgs patrolling the conversion chambers they could punch into the domes, snatch their friends back and be gone before the cyborgs knew what hit them. She could only see one slight problem.

"It sounds fine in theory but who's going to do this infiltration part? It all depends on that one person succeeding."  
"Me." Amata's voice had never sounded firmer.

Now Sarah really was uncertain. "Amata! This is your first field op and you've never done anything like this!"

"I'm NOT leaving Leon down there!" Amata snapped. "You said it yourselves, this is the only plan that's going to work and this part of it can't fail. I'm the smallest of us and the best dressed; unless you think you can do it clanking around in that power armour!"

"Hate to say it Sarah but she's got a point," Dan admitted. "She's the only one not wearing power armour and that's not exactly designed for stealth."

Sarah was in her Brotherhood T-45-d armour, Dan in Enclave standard and Severance and his team were all in Hellfire type.

"I hate to send a cute girl into the firing line like this but I agree too," Severance backed him up as he reached into one of their equipment crates for the C4 charges they'd brought along. "I'd better show you how to use these."  
"Damn it," Sarah muttered. She knew they were right though that didn't make this any easier...

**Central conversion chamber**

"Implant embeds are complete, subject's vitals are good, no sign of rejection," Iota reported from her console as the laser started to seal Leon's stomach back up.

"Excellent."

The process had been painstaking and slow but it had been a success. A slew of enhanced medical implants had been surgically placed through Leon's main body.

"NEMEAN sub-dermal, phoenix monocyte, immune system prototype, hypertrophy accelerator and endurance regulator are all ready to be activated," Delta reported as the laser finished up leaving nothing behind but a very faint scar which would heal on its own in a short time. Unless they did a full body scan no one would detect any evidence of Leon's surgery. Everything up to now, however, was merely a pre-op for what was to come.

Alpha broke into another of his chilling smiles. "Good. It's time we returned his wrist computer to him. Begin phase 2: activate cryogenic system."

Chi punched in several sequences on her computer.

"Delta, bring the endurance regulator and phoenix monocyte online. Make sure his constitution is at optimum; he'll need it to survive this phase. Leave the rest for now or cutting through his flesh and bone will be more difficult." Alpha turned to Chi. "Start the process now and be precise with the temperature, we don't want this subject haemorrhaging blood."

"Complying."

Two more tool arms went into motion and stopped over Leon's left arm. One held a ripper blade, the other a hose that didn't carry water but liquid nitrogen...

**Cavern access door**

A very nervous and scared Amata had just finished hacking through the computer lock on the door and was getting ready to activate a stealth boy. Sarah and the rest of the team stood ready behind her.

"Ok, you're up," Sarah said. "We'll wait here until you give the signal. Once you've done what you need to do head for the big dome to meet us. Hopefully that's where they'll be. Good luck."

_I'll need it. _Amata clenched her fists, hit the button on her first stealth boy and started to move quietly into the conversion area.

**Central conversion chamber**

"Upgrade 50% complete. Vitals still nominal. Adamantium has fully bonded to skull and skeleton."

Alpha couldn't have been more pleased at how things were progressing as he deftly operated the electric drill and jackhammer arms. The most risky phase was still to come however and plenty could still go wrong. "Bring the rest of the implants online and stand by for optic enhancement."

"I take it we extract one eye at a time?" Chi asked.

"Yes. How much time do we have left?"

Iota checked her readouts. "He'll still be under hypnosis for the next 45 minutes."  
Alpha's fear on that front subsided. That was more than enough. He brought the arc welder and soldering iron tool arms online alongside a delicate four pronged pincer claw and started concentrating intensely. He could not afford any errors on this part, eye extraction whilst preserving optic and brain nerves was a delicate operation...

**Overseer's office area**

Despite having one or two close calls with wandering drone cyborgs Amata made good progress through the vault. The unpleasant noises of what sounded like drills and other machinery operating as she passed the conversion domes drove her on all the more as she'd crept down the walkways and planted a C4 charge near one of the upgrade domes. This would be the 'signal' for the rest of the team and would do quite a lot of damage as a bonus.

Now she was nervously biding her time waiting for the perfect moment to sneak out of the great hall near the Overseer's office and into the engineering area. Despite the vault not being on alert anymore the situation was still fraught with danger as the area was still packed with cyborgs patrolling and going about maintenance and other duties.

Amata's luck held out. She finally found a gap in the patrols and snuck into the engineering control room behind a cyborg drone that was returning a toolkit to the supply lockers. Thinking quickly she reached up and shut the door behind her before turning around to survey the room. She swiftly located the console she wanted beside the water chip array. _Whoever thought that Stanley's boring engineering course would have been so useful?_

"Alert! Intruder detected!"  
The drone's voice jerked Amata back to here and now. Her latest stealth boy had worn off at the worst possible time! Fortunately her training kicked in and her reactions were still top notch as she blew the drone's head off with three precise laser hits. She didn't waste any time celebrating. Hurrying over to the console she slapped a C4 charge onto it and then accessed it. Fortunately this one wasn't code protected and she quickly got into the cooling control system.

_Warning: deactivating this system could result in reactor overheating if safety procedure is not followed. Continue Y/N?_

Amata slammed her finger down on the Y key before activating another stealth boy. She needed to get back to the dome area before she set the bombs off and give the signal to start the attack.

**Central conversion chamber**

"No signs of rejection. Optic connections to brain fully operational; the transplants have been successful." Even Iota couldn't keep the relief from her voice with her report.

Alpha was more than a little relieved too. The tricky parts were all done and now it was time for the finishing touch.

"At last. Today my fellow cyborgs, with this act, we make history and take another step in putting humanity on a new path. They say art comes in many forms; I know this will be considered a masterpiece of its own in years to come."

He activated the only tool arm that hadn't yet been used; one that held a neural probe. Part of him regretted having to perform this part of the operation but there was no way around it. All cyborgs had to have this 'fresh start' and be fully loyal to their new race and cause.

"As of now the Lone Wanderer no longer exists. Omega is born!"  
But then he got a rude shock as everything plunged into total darkness for ten seconds until the emergency orange lighting kicked in.

"What's going on?" Alpha snarled. His 'great moment' had been cut off along with all the power to the upgrading machinery.  
"We've lost primary power," Delta quickly ran over to a maintenance terminal in a corner of the darkened room; it was the only one that still had power. "The cooling systems to the reactor have gone offline."  
Alpha's suspicions were now a dead certainty. No maintenance on the reactor was scheduled and his drones were incapable of taking such action on their own. This had to be sabotage. This realisation was confirmed, almost on cue, by the explosions they heard from outside.

**Overseer's office area**

Amata's face was nearly a perfect mirror of Leon's during his visit to Raven Rock; a mix of determination and pure hatred. She'd waited until she got to the conversion chamber access corridor and then pressed the detonator blowing the console in engineering. Then she started her own killing spree opening up with the Metal Blaster, catching a Devastator and two drones on the hop and taking them out. She didn't feel fear anymore; she was high on adrenaline and she was MAD. The cyborgs she encountered on the way back to the dome area didn't have time to react before she blew their heads into molten slurry. Amata had become a one girl berserker army. She was going to get Leon back and none of these metal freak shows were going to get in her way!

**Cavern door**

"YES!" Even the sound of the explosion couldn't dampen Sarah's reaction on hearing just what she wanted to hear.

Severance, being of similar temperament as Sarah, didn't wait around. "That's it. GO! GO! GO!"

**Central conversion chamber**

"What is happening?" Alpha's confusion was turning to rage fast as he could hear plasma and laser shots. He knew he'd miscalculated badly about the rest of Leon's team running away.

Delta was moving to the door to investigate. He never got the chance as another C4 charge ripped the operating room door off its hinges.

Dan charged inside only seconds later. "Come on! We need to get...oh holy shit!"

Severance and two of his team charged in behind and they froze up at the horrific sight that awaited them.

"DELETE THEM!"  
The scream of rage from behind the control room window jerked them out of it and saved their lives as a hail of plasma bolts rained through, shattering the glass and forcing them all to duck down for cover. Miraculously no one was hit.

A pissed off Severance came back up hefting a grenade launcher and his shot was a beauty. It caught Chi straight on and the resulting explosion reduced her head to mush and flung the other three cyborgs onto the floor.

"Hurry, help me!" Dan had gone over to Leon's still unconscious form and started dragging him off the gurney, needing all of his power armour's strength to do so.

Alpha regained his feet, nursing a cut on the side of his organic face, just in time to see Dan and the Enclave troopers bundle Leon out of the door.

On the floor the rest of the team were cutting the overjoyed and relieved Jake, Yuna and Kayla free while Sarah kept watch outside the dome. It took five minutes of laser cutting and smashing the restraints before they were free and being carried away to safety. Dan's squad was the last out from the second floor of the dome.

_What's that they're carrying? Oh my god..._

Sarah froze up in shock as she realised and had to fight hard to stop herself throwing up. They'd been a little too late, that much was sorely evident from what she could see of the silver-green metal arms that Dan was supporting Leon by.

"Uhhhh..."  
"Oh fuck! He's waking up!" Dan panicked. "We've got to get him out to the Doc. If he sees himself like this...!"  
"GO!" Sarah barked harshly at him. "I'll get Amata and meet you outside!"

As Dan and Severance hauled Leon away with their teammates providing cover Sarah ran blindly toward the access corridor in rage and fury. _Those bastards! I'll kill them all for this!_

She didn't have to go far down the walkways before she encountered the frenzied Amata still laying down a hail of laser fire at her cyborg pursuers and a cyborg trying to sneak a shot into her back.

"Amata! Down!"

Amata, running on pure instinct, dropped down instantly allowing Sarah a clean headshot on her assailant. She grinned at Sarah in gratitude as she got to her feet again.

"Come on soldier, we're done! We got everyone," Sarah quickly informed her before joining her in laying down suppressing fire. "Ok, let's run for it!"

As they reached the cavern door Amata slowed up. "Hold on. Just one last thing."

"What?" Sarah was baffled until she saw Amata bringing out her 2 backup C4 charges, arming them and dropping them just inside the door.

Both girls fled into the cavern and then Amata brought out her detonator. "This is for Leon you fucking metal freaks!" The explosion smashed the door frame and buried the access corridor in rubble.

"You go, girl!" Sarah couldn't have been prouder of Amata than at that moment. No chance of pursuit now. They ran out of the cave just in time to see the first Vertibird lift off the ground and bank away towards Baltimore Haven before they dashed over to board the second and pull up the ramp behind them.

Both girls slumped into seats sweating and exhausted.

"Are you ok?"

They looked up to see that it was Kayla who'd spoken. She, Jake and Yuna were coldly shaking in the seats opposite wrapped in blankets.

"I've had better days," Sarah sighed. "How are you holding up?"  
"Better now that we're out of there!" Yuna shivered as Jake put his arm around her to try and warm her up.

"Hey where's Leon?" Amata's face was worried.

"On the other Vertibird I'd say," Sarah quickly told her. "With Doc Farnsworth."

"They didn't...?" Jake and everyone else had gained the same horrified expression.

Sarah grimly nodded. "They did. At least partially, I saw some of it myself. We won't know how bad it is until we get back and the Doc can look at him properly."

On the other Vertibird Severance and Farnsworth already had some idea as they examined Leon on the medical bed they'd brought along with them. Farnsworth couldn't believe what he was seeing and that this could happen at all.

Leon's head seemed untouched as far as he could tell. Farnsworth had checked through his cornsilk hair for any sign of damage and hadn't found any. His torso, all the way down to his privates, also seemed untouched and intact. But both arms and legs had been removed and replaced by silvery metal with green Saturnite coating. His pip boy 3000 had been riveted into the usual place on his left arm. Farnsworth was amazed that it had all been done so cleanly; there was no bleeding or damage of any kind at the areas where metal and flesh met.

"He's like this for good now isn't he Doc?" Severance asked with revulsion.

"Yes I'm afraid so. His original limbs are gone and they certainly would have started to degrade by now. It's what _else _they might have done that worries me."

"What's that mean?"

Farnsworth took Severance's hand and placed it on Leon's stomach. Severance was lost for a point at first; Leon's skin didn't feel that much different and the obvious question was all over his face.

"Try pressing down a little harder," Farnsworth suggested.

Severance did and got a big surprise. He wasn't able to press down easily at all. The skin felt much the same but it was as if Leon's insides had turned to brick. "What the hell is this?"  
"Sub-dermal armour implant," Farnsworth explained. "Hardens the subject's flesh and internal systems to make them almost like light armour and this one seems even tougher than usual. That's why I had to use the heavy surgical gun to sedate him again. No standard needle I had would work!"  
"Jesus Christ!"

"I fear our young friend has been used as a test bed for a brand new type of conversion. This is completely different from the ones we dissected in the vault. It's obvious what they've done on the surface but what else have they put inside of him? I need all my equipment back home to find out."

"You did say you sedated him didn't you Doc?"

"Of course I did! Why..." Farnsworth looked down at Leon again and knew instantly why. Leon was stirring and starting to come around. "Oh no, they must have done something to his immune system, it must be rejecting the sedative! Help me!"

Severance nodded and quickly tried to hold Leon down to the bed as Farnsworth desperately tried to reassure him.

"Leon, it's Neil Farnsworth. You're safe but you have to stay still!"  
"Where...am I?"Leon choked out as his eyes fluttered open.

Farnsworth froze up in shock "Oh god!"

"What's wrong?" Leon was really unnerved by Farnsworth's expression.

Farnsworth had major reservations about what he was about to do but he knew it had to be done sooner or later. He pulled a hand mirror from his travelling bag and held in front of Leon.

Leon's mouth fell open in sheer terror. The eyes that stared back at him were certainly not the set he'd been born with, no one would be born with red eyes and yellow/gold irises. It only took him a few more seconds to spot his new metal limbs.

About twenty more seconds passed and, to Farnsworth and Severance, Leon seemed to be calm...

"Leon?"

"AARRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"

..until his scream of rage proved quite the opposite.


	14. Deep seated feeling and a coming storm

Just a quick part added before I take a much needed break for Christmas.

Hypn0s : That's one game I've actually never played so I'll take your word for it. I got most of my inspiration from Dr Who, Resistance: Fall of Man and Wolfenstein's Uber Soldats amongst others.

Obsessed sniper: I'm definitely planning a battle royale Hoover Dam style and hope I can meet your expectations.

Geraldford: Don't worry it will be Alpha vs. Omega before long!

MrUnclePeanuts: It strikes me you're taking this a little too seriously. I try to be as realistic as possible but I've got to bring some game elements in or it wouldn't be too relevant would it? If the LW can adapt quickly why can't another vault dweller, especially one fighting for one she loves. Some people just sink, others can swim. As for the Sarah bashing (again) whoever said I was trying to justify her character? That's just how she is to me. She doesn't train recruits (that's Gunny's job), she trains elites and such considerations wouldn't cross her mind (She even thinks the LW a 'trashy wastelander' when they first meet), it's just (somewhat arrogant) Brotherhood thinking and you'll have to direct your complaining to Bethesda about that.

Jake: Glad the fic is still believable for some; thanks for that.

Alavon: I've been called a few names but never that one before. To say thanks I'll leave you with another cliffhanger! Hehehe…

Merry Christmas to all and I'll get the next part out in the New Year.

**Baltimore Haven**

Jim Lawson got one hell of a shock when he went out to meet his daughter home. Overcome with relief that she'd been freed and was coming back unharmed he'd run up to the Vertibird and pulled down the ramp...

"CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR!"  
Jake's angry voice and one short look inside were worth a thousand words. No one had warned him about their lack of clothing! He had to wait five more minutes, a little red faced, before three spare vault jumpsuits could be brought up.

**Vault 99 surgery**

Doc Farnsworth stared in heartfelt worry at his patient. Leon was curled up on the surgery bed almost into a foetal ball. He'd been in that position ever since he'd stopped freaking out on the Vertibird; he'd hardly even twitched when Dan and the other troopers had lifted him off the Vertibird and into the Vault. Frankly Farnsworth had preferred the screaming; at least it showed he was still alive and conscious. This silence worried him in more ways than one.

He saw Amata, Sarah and all the others arriving in the corridor outside and quickly moved outside to head them off. He didn't want any undue pressure on Leon at this point.

"Oh god no!" Amata was in anguish at seeing Leon through the window. Sarah and the rest couldn't believe the sight either.

"How bad is it, Doc?" Dan finally got the courage to ask.

"Very. The arms and legs are permanent; obviously. They're solid Adamantium believe it or not and mixed with some new alloy that I've never seen before. Makes it more lightweight yet even more resilient."

"What else?" Sarah knew there had to be more. Kayla, Yuna and Jake looked on the verge of throwing up knowing that could easily have been them lying there if they'd stayed in Alpha's hands any longer.

"He's also had heavy surgery. What's left of his skeleton and his skull has been Adamantium coated. His eyes have been removed and replaced by cybernetic ones that can see in several spectrums and he's had a series of new implants put inside of him. Very advanced too, I'd say they were new prototypes."  
That caused Houser even more concern. "Prototypes? What kind?"

"A more advanced sub-dermal armour for one, strength and endurance enhancers that boost well beyond the normal sort and as to his immune system and healing; well it's nothing short of spectacular. Toxins and poison are now absolutely useless. It even rejected my sedative on the flight back!"

"This is altogether different from anything we've seen before," Sarah mused. "They used him as a guinea pig, didn't they?"

Farnsworth nodded. "I'm afraid so. I don't pretend to be any military expert but I would say he was designed for infiltration purposes. I've run a few simulations through the computer. His arms and legs could be recovered with flesh and skin and would look perfectly normal again. His eyes could also be touched up or simply covered by contact lenses or sunglasses. Unless you did a full scan like I just have you would never tell that his arms were metal with hydraulic muscles or ever find his other enhancements. He would look like a normal, but strong, human being."

"Those cunning bastards," Sarah was disgusted and grudgingly impressed at the same time. "This was designed specifically for Leon. Alpha gave him an upgrade that would play to his strengths; he's always been good at infiltration and sneak attacks."

"And think of what else they could do with this," Severance was horrified at the bigger picture. "An army of cyborgs that could walk among us and we'd never even know it!"

"That's not all they could do," Farnsworth went on. "Whatever else we might think of this Alpha the one thing we can never accuse him of is not thinking ahead."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kayla asked with raised eyebrows.

Farnsworth suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "I suppose there's no delicate way to put this except to say that he can still 'organically function'."  
"Oh!" Dan was the first to see where he was going though the others were still lost.

"He can still eat and still has to sleep, though he probably needs a lot less than he used to," Farnsworth explained. "And he can still procreate."

Everyone's head whipped around in shock. "You're kidding!" Severance was the first to blurt out.

Farnsworth shrugged. "I never kid about my work. The only things they cut off were his arms and legs. His um...'external plumbing' shall we say is still intact and functional along with his digestive system and all other main organs."  
Houser nodded in understanding. "It makes sense. Alpha must have known he couldn't sustain his numbers by taking and converting people so he comes up with a model that can get round the problem."  
"Kind of hard to get it on with a girl when you're an unthinking drone and jammed into a metal cage of cybernetic armour," Dan agreed.

"Will you stop screwing around!" Amata snapped. "This is my friend we're talking about here!"

"Bottom line: how is he doing overall?" Sarah typically cut to the chase.

"Physically he's fine. No complications or side effects, if anything he's stronger and more resilient than ever. It's his mental state that worries me. He flipped out on the Vertibird when he realised what exactly had been done to him and my concern is that he might not see himself as human anymore despite my attempts to assure him otherwise. You pulled the plug on this just in time I think. They completed the physical part of the upgrade and if they'd gone any further they'd have started operating on his mind."  
"Yeah they almost did," Dan recalled with a chill as he remembered pulling Leon off the operating table. "They almost stuck a neural probe in his head."  
"Which undoubtedly was a brainwashing probe," Farnsworth reasoned. "If that had gone into him he'd be just like those other primary cyborgs you encountered and irretrievable. Now if you don't mind I should get back to my patient. Amata can stay if she wants to. In fact I'd like a word with her in private."

Farnsworth led Amata through to his private office in the back of his clinic.

"If anyone can help Leon get through this intact it would be you," Farnsworth was blunt. "My fear is he'll try and handle this on his own like he's so used to doing but that could cause him to withdraw into himself and cut us off completely."  
Amata shared that worry. Leon had never been one to share his inner emotions or his problems in the past and she wasn't confident of bringing them out now, but she'd never given up on a friend and she certainly wasn't going to give up on the one she'd come to love.

"What can I do, besides being there for him that is?"

"Just that; be there for him and make sure he knows that you're there for him," Farnsworth advised. "I know it sounds pathetic but things like that can be the difference between make or break."

Amata nodded. "Can I stay the night then?"

"Sure but I wouldn't get as intimate as you got last time," Farnsworth allowed himself a little smile. "At least not until he can gauge his new strength and arms. If he got too enthusiastic he could accidentally break your back."

"He's THAT strong now?" Amata was aghast.

"With those arms he is. Adamantium is practically unbreakable and coupled with hydraulic muscles...he could crush every bone in our hands down to powder."

"Right," Amata sighed. That was one way of comforting him gone to start with.

"Don't fret; he's strong and the parts that make us truly human, the heart, mind and soul, are all still exactly as they were. Never doubt that. Just try not to get too shocked by his new eyes, they are...different."

Amata nodded in understanding and took a deep breath. _No point in putting it off any longer I suppose._

She approached his sleeping form with heavy trepidation. She blushed as she gazed at his improved muscles, he'd been pretty buff before but now he was even more developed, you could tell even through the undershirt he'd been given to cover his dignity.

"Who is it?"  
Amata was jerked back to reality by his voice as he awoke and sat up on the gurney. She sucked in a breath as she saw his new eyes; Farnsworth had been right, they were unsettling, like a cross between a cat and a demon's.

Leon sighed as he saw Amata and her reaction and looked away from her. His eyes freaked him out never mind her. "Amata...I didn't think you'd want to see me like this."  
She could see the hurt he was feeling. "Leon, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It isn't your fault. I screwed up back there not you. Besides what would your dad have said if you'd come back looking like this?"

"Oh Leon, always trying to protect me," Amata sighed. "I wish you'd let me help more once in a while. We could have pulled you out..."

"Not in time. We both know that," Leon wasn't in the mood to debate this. "But from what the doc told me you were the hero this time, pulling the plug on the vault's power. Thank you for that Amata. As bad as this is, at least I didn't get turned all the way."

"Does it hurt?" Amata asked with real worry.

"No it doesn't. What's scary is I can't feel anything through them at all. I mean these things are attached to me and they work but I can't _feel _them anymore...god what am I now?"

"You're still you," Amata could feel his pain. "They may have violated your body but they didn't touch you inside."

"Really?" Leon scoffed. "From what I've been told there's more spare parts in me now than a junkyard; plus every time I look in a mirror there's _these _staring back at me! Shit, I can't even cry anymore!"

"You're still the same person inside that I knew," Amata plucked up all her courage. "And you're still the only man in this world I love."

Leon was beyond stunned. _I knew she liked me before but she didn't just say that now, did she?_

Thirty seconds later he found his voice again. "I look like I've had an accident with a trash compactor and you're saying...?"  
Amata couldn't hold herself back anymore as she flung her arms around him and kissed him. For the second time in a minute Leon was taken aback and it took ten seconds before he responded and could gently return her kiss.

"You believe me now?" Amata said as she broke away. "It wasn't just your looks I fell in love with. It was the man inside, the same one who looked out for me growing up in the vault. You're _not _alone in this, Leon, and you're still human no matter what anyone else says. I believe in you, the question is: do you?"

Leon couldn't help smiling for the first time since his conversion. "Touché. I suppose I was asking for that, wasn't I?"  
Amata broke into a smile. "Forgetting your own lessons. Slipping aren't we?"

Leon held up his arms in response. "Seriously though, am I really what you want now? This could be difficult unless you're into heavy metal..."  
Amata choked back a laugh. "The doc says that can be fixed, same with your eyes, and it's pretty light metal from what I hear."

"Maybe but I need to get used to these first. If I get...too excited, I could really hurt you. I could never forgive myself if that happened."

Amata had to admit he had a point there. "We'll work something out, don't worry. I love you, Leon, and your condition will never change that."

Leon was touched beyond words. "I love you too. Hell I've loved you for years but I could never bring myself to say it."

Amata knew that feeling all too well. If only she'd not been so short-sighted the year before...

"Well congratulations are in order then." Doc Farnsworth had quietly come out of his office and had caught the last parts. "You managed to perk up my patient much more than I ever could and you two are together now."

"Thanks, Doc," Leon managed after he and Amata broke apart in embarrassment.

"I came to tell you we're getting some more armour and food sent up for you. I bet you're hungry by now."  
"Starving," Leon agreed.

"I'd still like to run a few more tests and perhaps look through your pip-boy. The other cyborgs had detailed schematics of themselves in theirs and yours might offer some insight too."

"I'll catch up with you later," Amata beamed as she left feeling better than she had in awhile. Her relationship with Leon was on better ground than she'd ever thought possible a week or so back. Still there were now some new problems to get around as she headed for the cafeteria deep in thought...

**Vault Cafeteria**

"You ok?" Sarah asked Amata who was still deep in thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Leon's getting better and so am I. How are the others?"

"Kayla's back on her feet and getting debriefed with Dan. Jake and Yuna are getting some much needed rest. I think those two are getting closer if you know what I mean!"

"So are Leon and me," Amata revealed. "It's just with him being half metal and me not..."  
"Damn," Sarah didn't know what to say to that. "I just hope you two can get around that somehow. Anyway, to change the topic completely, this might not mean much to you right now but I'm putting you in for Knight when we get back."

"You're serious?" It was Amata's turn to be stunned.

"Absolutely. I know your name hasn't even been added to the scrolls yet but I'm confident my father and Rothchild will agree on this. You were the keystone in the last mission, sneaking into the heart of an enemy stronghold and saving a Knight Commander in the process. I don't think Leon can argue much against this now. You're better than most wasteland recruits we get and more than good enough for a full Knight. I'd love to know what makes you vault dwellers so damn tough!"

_That makes two of us! _"Thanks Sarah. Coming from you that means a lot. In fact, that's just given me an idea. I've got to go see the doc."  
She headed for the infirmary leaving her meal half eaten and a puzzled Sarah behind.

**Vault 99 surgery**

Amata returned to find Leon already gone.

"He left half an hour ago," Farnsworth came out of his office to meet her. "Said he had some new plans for those arms of his and left for the armoury to find Matt and Mira as soon as his replacement armour arrived."

"That's ok. It wasn't him I was trying to find. I need a favour, doc."

"What kind? You don't look wounded or very ill so I can assume it's not treatment you're looking for."  
Amata looked awkward. "In a way it is. I was wondering: does this vault have any Adamantium?"

"Sure it does. We, the Enclave that is, have a good stock of it as well. Used in both armour and construction work mostly, why?"

Farnsworth's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when Amata explained what she had in mind.

"You can't be serious!" When Amata's deadly serious expression didn't change he knew that was a wish too far. "Oh dear lord, you are. This isn't risk free you know. Reading it from a template is one thing, actually doing it is quite another."

Amata's voice took on a pleading tone. "I know. But I don't know any other way. I don't want to beg but please. I need to do this. It's not just me being selfish. I failed Leon last year. I sent him out of the vault when he needed my help most and look what happened. If I'm to stay with him I need to get stronger and tougher."

"As laudable as that is you put me in a difficult position," Farnsworth fretted. "I'm sworn to do no harm as a doctor and this could kill you if it goes wrong."  
"Yes I already figured that out. But unless I do it I don't think I can ever keep up with Leon or...well you know. You made that perfectly clear."

"Yes I did," Farnsworth admitted he'd run himself into a corner on this one."If you won't be persuaded...go and lie on the table over there, once you've stripped down of course."

**Armoury**

"Is this everything you need?"

Matt and Mira had spent the last half hour getting Leon a long list of equipment and spare parts. It was an odd list as far as they could see. Several suits of leather armour, a few Chinese swords, an acetylene torch, an arc welder, a sledgehammer and access to a workbench and other various tools.

"Yeah that's fine, thanks for all this. I can take it from here."

"What do you need all this for?" Mira couldn't see the need for leather armour when Leon was wearing a perfectly good suit of Combat Armour.

"If I'm stuck with these arms I might as well improve on them a little. If other cyborgs can put weapons on their arms so can I."  
Matt nodded. "Ok, if you need anything else..."

"You'll be the first guys I call. Thanks."

Amata had managed to pull Leon from his depression but his feelings of hate were going into overdrive as he started to work. _You made a fatal mistake doing this to me and stealing my humanity, Alpha. I hope you're ready for some serious consequences..._

**Vault 66**

"No...NO...AAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHH!"  
The scream would have curdled the blood of any human who would have heard it. In the aftermath of the Enclave rescue Alpha, Delta and Iota had been moved to a hidden area below level 5 that served as the cyborgs' healing and 'regeneration' area. This was one of the most gruesome areas of the whole vault, more so than even the upgrade chambers, as this was the place where unfortunate wastelanders were taken after capture, forced into big Auto-Doc style cylinders and then chopped up for 'spare organic parts'. The saws and cutters literally dismembered the poor victims then their flesh was liquefied and sent to the giant vats for reprocessing and distribution to the transparent glass healing chambers above.

Delta and Iota had just finished their healing cycle and were emerging from their pods fully restored. Their flesh had been badly burnt by Severance's grenade shot but now it was as if it had never happened. Both watched the disgusting sight of Alpha's wounds fast healing as fresh blood, flesh and skin poured through pipes into the chamber. Five minutes later he emerged fully restored as well and in less than a good mood.

"Give me a full damage report!"  
"We have lost 50% of our drone upgrade capacity," Delta knew this was going to be a sorry report. "The primary chamber has been badly damaged also and is undergoing repair. All the captives eluded us...including unit Omega. The computers report his upgrade was incomplete."

Alpha knew that much already. He'd been about to complete it when the power had been cut. _Once again history repeats! Those pre-war government filth are ruining everything I've worked to accomplish! _

"Repairs to the primary chamber will take hours at least. The grenade caused extensive damage and it will take our drones a lot of time even with full vault power it still needs..."

"It will take longer because I have another agenda in mind," Alpha cut Delta off abruptly.

"And that is?" Delta saw the growing rage in Alpha's words.

"Reactivating all units from storage chambers A and B and sending them against Baltimore Haven!"

Even Delta was taken aback at this. "Reactivate all of them? At the same time?"

"Correct. Omega is a vital part of our future and development. His recovery is imperative at all and any cost."  
"And what of the settlement itself?" Delta asked.

"Preserve what you can of it and bring back as many prisoners as possible from the settlers to replace the units we have lost. As for the _Enclave_..." he spat that word with utter hatred. "They have defied me, no us, once too often. Delete every single one of them!"  
"Gladly," Delta broke into a chilling smile of his own. Deleting 'organics' was a cherished pastime of his.

"We will need at least a day and most of the vault's power to reactivate all the units required," Iota warned.

"Well then I suggest you begin immediately! Start by bringing Sub-Commander Theta online to lead alongside you and then make sure that all the heavy cyber suits are ready for battle as well. I want that settlement taken and Omega recovered by the end of the week!"

"Complying!"

Delta and Iota hurriedly left the room and went down an access corridor to another vast chamber. This one had glowing blue glass pods stacked high as far as the eye could see. If Leon had been there he'd have recognised them at once as Zeta alien cryogenic technology. Though he wasn't aware of their origins Alpha had been able to reverse engineer and replicate them quite easily. He'd upgraded hundreds of people over the years and then, to save on space and resources, had put them on ice in the chambers. A fully capable army ready to be released at anytime...and that time was now. Delta tapped the reactivation sequence into the nearby console and watched as power and heat was applied to each pod and the cyborg occupants began to thaw and reanimate.

Delta and Iota shared a cold smile. Now they numbered a few dozen. In a day there would be hundreds of them and Baltimore Haven would learn what defying the cyborg race would really mean. It would be a glorious battle and the start of a new cyber era...


	15. Relationship forged in Adamantium

Ah at last. New Year's come and gone and I've got this part done. Sorry I couldn't finish it sooner but work is always a bitch before Christmas and Bethesda has an annoying habit of bringing good games out :). But I managed to take a break out of Skyrim to keep going.

Obsessed sniper and Geraldford: Not battle time yet unfortunately. Leon still needs some rebuild and downtime but that's coming up next part!

Alavon: What Amata's planned is permanent but for the best. As for your second part...be careful what you wish for :).

**Armoury**

It had taken Leon all morning and half the afternoon as well but all his 'modifications' were finally done. He'd covered his arms and legs with black leather sheathing on advice from Sarah and Dan. He knew they didn't want too many people knowing he'd been cyber augmented to try and stave off panic but he didn't hold out much hope. Truth tended to out sooner or later and, with Alpha and his cyborgs still out there, he was betting on sooner. He'd packed up the tools and headed to Amata's quarters to see if she wanted to join him for some more training. On not finding her there he went to the training area to find Sarah.

"She's not with you?" Sarah was surprised when Leon asked after her whereabouts. "She went back to the surgery. I thought she met up with you there."

"The surgery? I checked myself out hours ago," Leon was starting to get a little concerned.

"She said she had an idea to ask the doc about. Didn't say what it was though, I thought you knew."

Leon's unease was getting bigger by the minute. "No she didn't. I'll go check and see if she's still there."

"I think I'd better come along," Sarah caught on to his expression and unease real fast.

**Vault 99 surgery**

Doc Farnsworth tried in vain to head them off as they came in. "Leon, this isn't the best time..."

"Where is she?" Leon asked with fear in his voice.

Farnsworth pointed to the same gurney where Leon had been lying that morning which was masked by screens. Leon quickly pulled one aside.

"Oh holy god!"  
"What?" Sarah ran to his side in concern. "Oh hell..."

A naked and sedated Amata was lying under a surgical blanket. An industrial size IV drip was plugged into her spine just below her neck and they could both see the silver metal that was flowing through the transparent pipe: liquid Adamantium.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this," Sarah threw a thunderous look at Farnsworth.  
"He doesn't need to," Leon said knowingly. "This was _her _idea wasn't it?"

Farnsworth nodded. "She said she failed you last year and she needed to get stronger. Wouldn't take no for an answer."  
"I know exactly what you mean," Leon sighed. _Amata you never change. _"Stubborn as her dad and she never lets anything go." _Part of the reason I love her so much._

"How is she? Is she pulling through?" Sarah was well aware of the risk of Adamantium skeleton bonding. The Brotherhood had done it themselves on a few occasions and had experienced one or two botches.

"She's doing well. The initial bonding is all done with no spillage or contamination. Just the top up coating now so to speak."

Sarah exhaled in relief as that meant the most risky stage was done. Sometimes the bonding didn't take or hold properly and, as a result, Adamantium spilled into the bloodstream and around the poor subject's system which usually meant massive blood poisoning or coronaries or a lot more usually fatal complications.

"I hope I've not violated your trust by doing this," Farnsworth asked hopefully.

"I've been on the end of Amata's pleading before, doc," Leon grinned. "I don't blame you. I can't exactly blame her either because I know why she did it. I'd have probably done the same in her position. Let me know when she wakes up will you?"  
Farnsworth nodded before turning to check on Amata again keeping a good poker face as he did so. _Good thing I didn't say this was my first time doing this sort of operation, they'd have killed me for sure!_

In the end Amata's operation was a complete success with no complications at all and Farnsworth had thrown in a normal NEMEAN sub-dermal implant for good measure. An hour or so later she was up and walking around again.

""Are you sure this worked? I don't feel too different."

"You're not supposed to. Check your pip-boy and this x-ray if you want proof," Farnsworth smiled. "Unless he's bent on crushing you to death you should be fine now."

"He might be when he finds out I've done this without telling him," Amata sighed. "I'd better go find him. I really appreciate this doc."

"Don't worry about that. He already knows, by the way. He stopped in while you were under so don't try stalling on him."

Amata swallowed hard as she left. So much for breaking it gently to him. She hoped he was in an understanding mood.

**Overseer's office-2 hours later**

Amata need not have worried. Leon and Sarah were only chafed that she'd done a run-around on them and hadn't told them up front.

"Just run it past us next time before you take risks like that," Sarah had chided.

"That's right. We do care about you after all," Leon added his agreement.

Amata nodded in relief as Houser, Dan and Kayla entered the room for the strategy meeting.

"Glad you made it," Houser said with real sincerity. "I'm sorry for what you went through Leon."  
Leon shrugged. "I'm getting used to it. Hell, it might be useful in what's coming up."  
Houser nodded. "What's coming up is what I wanted to ask about. We've learned more about these cyborgs in a few days than anyone else has in a few years but the question is now what do we do?"

"Simple. We get ready to be hit hard," Leon didn't waste time or mince words.

Sarah was with that. "He's right; they aren't going to be subtle now. We know too much about them to be left alone. Too much of a risk of us spreading the word about them across the wasteland; they won't let that go unchecked."

"Not to mention they're going to want Leon back," Kayla surmised. "He's a new prototype and Alpha seems to think highly of him."  
Leon grunted. "The feeling isn't mutual, trust me. For all his brain and intelligence he's still a mad maniac who wants to turn over half the world into metal puppets. I'd sooner blow my own head off than help him."

"The real mad thing is I can see where his logic's coming from," Sarah mused. "He saw the world destroyed by out of control governments with unregulated science and technology and he's trying to stop that from happening again. It's a lot like the Brotherhood world view except he's taken it to a real extreme."

"An extreme backed by a logic all of its own," Leon added grimly.

"One that won't be denied either if what you're saying is true," Houser agreed. "They won't stop until they've converted or killed everything in their path. Negotiation is definitely out and so is surrender on that basis. Can we count on any help from the Brotherhood?"  
"After the last message I sent them? It'd be impossible for them not to," Sarah was sure about that. She'd used slightly stronger language in it this time around in order to stave off any argument from Rothchild or anyone else.

Dan nodded. "Let's hope they send their people up soon enough."

**Vault Cafeteria**

After the meeting broke up everyone ended up in the cafeteria for a much needed break. Leon ended up eating with Dan, Yuna, and Jake. They'd been spreading the word around the settlement of their trip to Vault 66 and what was to come.

Yuna was shell shocked worst of all. "I just can't believe they're all gone. Abby, Josh..."

"Nothing you could have done," Leon didn't want any nerves or breakdowns now. "Just concentrate on what we'll do to Alpha and his friends when we see them next!"  
"We heard that," Jake was really in the mood to do some damage.

"So did I," Yuna growled as she got up to get some more food.

"You know, Dan, we might have to start arming the settlers to make up the numbers," Leon suddenly realised. "I know they're not experienced or trained but we've probably got no choice if Alpha sends all he's got at us."

Dan wasn't comfortable about that but he knew that Leon was right. "Let's just hope they surprise us and can do as well as those two did."  
Leon shrugged. "Why not? You're never helpless until you're dead."

"Good philosophy to live by," Dan grinned.

"Listen Dan, I never got a chance to thank you for getting me out of there..."  
"For what? We wouldn't leave anyone to those freaks let alone you and...oh shit, what are they doing out of the gutters?"

"What?" Leon turned around in his seat and saw instantly what. The scene almost jerked him right back to his own vault days. Yuna and Amata had been surrounded at the serving bar by four slightly drunk men in vault jumpsuits, all in their early twenties, and they weren't exactly being friendly or letting them go anywhere. "Who are those dickheads?"  
"Ron Danson, the constant troublemaker and wannabe future Overseer elect," Dan pointed out the loudmouthed redhead that appeared to be the leader. "Thinks himself heir apparent, but the brains aren't so if you know what I mean! I don't know the others personally but..."  
"I know the type," Leon sneered as the memories of Wally Mack and Paul Hannon came flooding back.

"I'll get rid of them," Dan started to rise but Leon cut him off.

"Allow me."  
_Oh boy. _A part of Dan wanted to stop Leon but it didn't win out as Leon had a very determined expression on his face.

"This'll be fun," Sarah, sitting at the next table, had a hard time suppressing a smile.

"Not for them I think!" Mira joined her chuckling.

Things were getting a little heated up at the bar. Amata was shielding Yuna from Danson's unwanted advances.

"C'mon don't be like that, Yuna. Hey with your friend here it'll be all the merrier..."  
"Back off asshole!" Amata shoved him back as he tried to come on to them. She'd never given an inch before and she certainly wasn't going to now to this half drunk moron. _This guy makes Butch look like Einstein!_

Danson's face contorted with rage. "What did you call me?" He pulled his hand back to slap her...big mistake.

Suddenly he felt something wrap around his hand and found he couldn't move his arm at all. He turned his head to see his arm pinned by Leon's first arm modification, namely a reinforced leather whip that he'd attached to his left arm at the wrist, and a very pissed off Leon pulling on it.

"I'd think we'd better have a little talk, friend," Leon's tone indicated he considered Danson anything but a friend.

"Hey let me go or I'll..."

Leon's scowl turned even darker. "You will _what?_" He pulled hard on the whip and Danson found himself nearly flying toward Leon or rather his right fist that crashed straight into his nose and smashed it into bloody mush. He hit the floor out cold and didn't get up again.

"Next?" Leon snorted angrily.

The other three goons' faces grew furious and they pulled out switchblades but their bravado wasn't to last.

"Feh, are you really going to attack with those little pokers? Especially when I've got this?"  
Everyone gasped at the sight of Leon's second add-on as his right arm suddenly 'grew' a Chinese style sword blade. The goons dropped their switchblades and ran out of the cafeteria as fast as their legs would carry them.

"So that's what you needed all that stuff for this morning," Matt spluttered.

"I'm going to have more work today," Farnsworth was checking Danson over. "You broke his nose by the look of it."  
"That's not all I'll break if he tries to touch Amata again!" Leon muttered.

"Nice moves," Severance grinned as Leon retracted his blade. "I've wanted to punch that punk out for a long time."

Leon grunted. "So what stopped you?"

"His dad being a security guard here mainly," Jake said. "Else god knows how many of us would have done what you just did."  
Yuna was relieved. "Thanks Leon. That bastard's always tried to hit on me just because I'm the Mayor's daughter."

Both Leon and Amata rolled their eyes. "That sounds familiar too," Leon sighed.

**Overseer's Office**

"I am so sorry about this!" Contrary to Ron Danson's expectations his father was not rushing to his son's defence. Not after seeing the video playback of the incident.

"Not your fault Roger. You can't watch him 24 hours a day," Houser replied.

"That won't be a problem after today. Once he gets out he's got a week in the vault cell courtesy of me! Wish I knew where I went so far wrong with him."

"Just make sure he knows to stay away from Amata and Yuna," Dan warned. "Or Leon won't hold back next time and you know what that means."  
Roger Danson nodded grimly before he left.

"You can pick him up anytime, Roger. I'm done with him," Farnsworth breezed into the office alongside Kayla, Severance, Matt, Mira and Amata.

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "Hard to believe a guy like Roger can have an asshole like that for a son."

"He doesn't know how lucky his son was. The last guy who tried to hurt me like that..." Amata shuddered as another memory came back.

"When was this?" Dan couldn't help asking.

"Last year when Leon escaped from the vault..."

**Flashback- Vault 101**

"Please Amata. Officer Mack might enjoy this but I don't."  
Her father's pleas were falling on deaf ears. Amata couldn't believe the events of the last few hours or that her father had been indirectly responsible for so much of them. After what had happened to Jonas she sure wasn't going to help him now.

"Carry on Officer," Alphonse sighed as he realised he wasn't getting anywhere.

"FREEZE!"  
All three whirled round to see a very angry Leon, pumped up on rage and adrenaline, dressed in stolen vault armour and with a 10mm pistol pointed straight at them.

"Amata move! Get out of here!"

Amata didn't need telling twice. She ran out of the office but she couldn't stop herself hanging back in the corridor to watch through the window.

"I hope you're here to turn yourself in, young man. You're in enough trouble as it is..."  
"Someone's in trouble all right," Leon was boiling over with rage. "But it certainly isn't me!"

Alphonse took one look at Leon's face and knew that might be true_. _He was shaking in anger and didn't look all too stable. Realising this he tried a different tack. "Leon, please calm down. Think about the consequences of your actions..."  
...And then Steve Mack, foolishly thinking Leon was bluffing and the armour he wore made him invincible, opened his mouth and totally blew it. "He's right punk. Drop it and give it up now and I might go easy on you!" It was a mistake he wouldn't live to regret.  
"You want consequences, _Alphonse_?" Leon snarled. "Here's some right here!"  
Leon lowered his pistol's aim and shot Steve point blank in the kneecap eliciting a shriek of pain from him as he dropped his baton to clutch the bleeding wound. Leon blew away his other knee with a second shot and laid him flat on his back screaming. Alphonse had backed up against the wall in shock and horror as Leon holstered his gun and pulled out his own beloved baseball bat.

"This is for Jonas you son of a bitch!" Alphonse and Amata looked away in horror as Leon went into frenzy; raising the bat and smashing it down on Steve's head again and again until his head had literally caved in and there was a lake of red flowing across the floor.

Choking back bile at the gory scene in front of him Alphonse struggled to find words. "You killed him!"

"No, he murdered Jonas so I executed him!" Leon, despite being soaked in blood, hadn't come out of his adrenaline induced berserker rage. He brought out his gun and pointed it at the Overseer again. "We're past talking now, you and your thugs saw to that. Now hand over your key and I'll be on my way."

Amata watched in absolute shock and horror at the scene as she knew Leon was right. Sending the guards after him and Leon's first kills had ended any chance of talking him down. _Oh god Leon please don't...not my daddy! I know he went too far but..._

Fortunately for her, and Alphonse, Leon seemed to subconsciously hear her despite Alphonse's current pompous tirade.

"...and for that I'm making no apology for my actions. Guards help me!"  
Leon shrugged. "In that case, I make no apology for _this_." He drew back his fist and decked Alphonse with a right cross. There'd been a part of Leon that had wanted to do that for years and he couldn't help feeling a twinge of satisfaction as he walked to the door.

"Leon..." he turned to see the Overseer sitting up and nursing his cut lip. Despite all that had happened and his past animosity, Alphonse still cared. With James gone AWOL and Jonas dead the vault, namely its medical staff, would be crippled if Leon left. "Please don't do this. You're putting your life in danger."

"I'm not. But anyone that comes after me is!"

Amata, thanking every god in existence that Leon had spared her father, fled back to their quarters ahead of him and ended up seeing him escape through the front door despite Park and Wolf's best efforts to stop him. He'd offered to take her with him but she didn't want to leave her father. She knew he still cared despite his actions that day and she couldn't abandon him. She also knew Leon had changed forever. The innocent, shy and naive boy she'd grown up with was gone. The Lone Wanderer had been born...

**Overseer's Office**

"I think that was the other reason I didn't go with him then," Amata sighed. "What he'd done and what he'd become, it scared me a little."

"Who wouldn't be given all that happened to you that day," Farnsworth said knowingly.

"Anyway, Sarah told me to tell you that the Brotherhood is sending reinforcements. They'll be here tomorrow morning."  
"Some good news for a change," Houser sighed in relief. "Everything else ready I hope?"

"Guards are on high alert, every gun and launcher we've got is repaired and ready for action and I've sent Raven and a couple of others out as scouts to the north," Kayla reported.

Amata exhaled heavily. "I'll go get some more gun practice in. I've a feeling I'll need it."

"That explains a lot of things about Leon, doesn't it?" Kayla mused.

"But how did he get so, well lethal?" Yuna wondered. "Jake and me were raised in a vault but we couldn't do half the stuff he does."  
"You were raised in a happy environment with good family and good friends," Farnsworth explained. "You didn't have much reason to want to leave either. The same three things certainly did not apply to Leon. Aside from his father and Amata he had no real reason to be happy in Vault 101. Raised among short sighted arrogant fools and a bullying Overseer it's no surprise he jumped at the chance to go after his father rather than stay. Something like what Amata just told us was inevitable. Killing Jonas and trying to arrest Leon that day was the proverbial last straw."

"Maybe but I don't get how he adapted to the wasteland so fast," Kayla was puzzled. "My first six months as a scout was a nightmare I'd rather forget."

"You can partly blame Amata's father and Vault 101 for that. Everything the Overseer did to bully Leon into conforming only served to build resentment and alienate him further, it made him forge his own road. He poured himself into his school studies, his BB gun training and listening to his father more than the Overseer and his personality cult nonsense. Amata's father unwittingly helped lay the foundations for Leon's emergence into the wasteland. As for the rest of it I think it's simply called human endeavour and the survival of the fittest. The field, and the wasteland in particular, is the harshest of teachers and not many get through or even survive but those that do..."  
"Tend to excel," Dan realised.

"Exactly. I'm sure he went through the same hazing hell you did but faster. Finding his father and proving his detractors wrong was the fire that fuelled him. You might even say he was forged in fire and he's exactly like fire now. If you're close to him he'll be the warmest friend and best protector there'll ever be whereas if not...he'll burn you to ash."

"Something we learned too late," Severance said bitterly.

"And something Alpha won't learn until it's too late either," Farnsworth smiled. "In spite of the situation it's why I'm still quietly confident we can still prevail. Leon's here and I'm betting he's _mad._When Alpha and his cyborgs show up God only help them. Mind you I think even he'd get out of Leon's way when he's in this mood!"

**Vault 99 living quarters-2 hours later**

After several hours of training and sending messages to the Citadel Leon was headed back to his room to see Amata and get some much needed rest after that. He'd felt he'd got the hang of his new limbs and weapons now in training; all that was needed now was a live test in the field. The incident in the cafeteria hardly counted as that. He was starting to wonder what Amata wanted to see him for this late in the day. They had been training all day together after all. He allowed himself a sly grin, maybe she wanted some more 'comfort time' before the final battle. He was only partly right.

He entered his room to find it empty.

"I'm back here, Leon," Amata's voice came from the bedroom.

Leon walked in there to find Amata lying in his bed under the covers.

"Getting comfortable already?" Leon raised his eyebrows.

"Well I remembered that I liked the last time," Amata smiled. "It got us a good night's sleep didn't it?"

Leon saw a glint in her eye that he'd not seen before. What was he missing here?

"You want the same again before tomorrow then, right?"  
"Not exactly. Leon..." Amata seemed to be struggling to find words. "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow or even if we're going to get through it..."  
"Amata! I thought you'd got past your confidence problem."  
"That's not it, Leon. I've got no problems with fighting or battle but it's just something that I wanted you to know before tomorrow; just in case we, you know, don't make it."

After their earlier conversation and reforging of their relationship Leon knew what she was going to say. He beat her to it and let his heart take over. "Amata, we ARE going to make it tomorrow. I know that because I have you to come back to now. I love you, Amata Almodovar. "

Amata felt her own heart warm up on hearing his words and a sly grin spread across her face. "Really? Then why don't you prove it, Leon Kallan?"

With that she pulled the covers back and Leon's jaw hit the floor as she revealed what every boy in Vault 101 would have killed to see a year or two back and still would now.

He recovered after thirty seconds and matched her grin with one of his own as he started to remove his Combat Armour. "I never back down from a challenge, Amata, you know that!"

Removing everything except for his arm and leg covers he wasted no time in joining the naked Amata in bed. As they joined both realised neither of them was going to get much sleep tonight...

**North Baltimore ruins- 6 hours later**

"Raven!"  
"What's wrong?" Raven got up from her post on the top floor of the ruined office building and went over to see what had got her partner, a 15 year old vault kid named Mark, so panicked.

One look down the binoculars was all she needed and it almost gave her a heart attack. The street was filled with cyborgs, drone and Devastator, more than she could quickly count. That wasn't the worst of it either as ten heavy cyborgs were marching amongst the massed group. The memory of _one _of those things tearing her old Raider gang to bloody shreds still haunted her nightmares.

"Camera, now!"  
Mark passed a camera to her and she started taking pictures of the approaching army as fast as she could.

Unfortunately the camera's flash gave away her position to the very observant Sub-Commander Theta, formerly Vault 66 guard Will Roberts, below.

"We have been detected."

Delta had seen it too. "Then let's give them an example of what's to come. Heavy 2: one missile at that building!"  
"COMPLYING...DELETE!" The heavy swung its launcher arm to bear and fired.

"Oh SHIT!" Raven and Mark flung themselves backward just in time before the missile slammed into the window and reduced it and the wall around to flaming rubble.

"Let's get out of here; we've got to go now!" Both of them ran down the stairs as fast as their legs could carry them.

"Shouldn't we delete them?" Iota asked as the cyborg leaders watched the two run out of the building toward Baltimore Haven.

"No need. They will serve our purposes better when they tell their settlement of our strength," Delta almost smirked. "Let them spread fear through their own ranks and then the task will be all the easier."

He had good reason to be confident. There were 500 cyborgs marching with the heavy units: over double the Enclave garrison at Baltimore Haven. The settlers would only be token resistance at best. Delta planned to reach Baltimore Haven by dawn. After all, that was always the historic time for invasions of this sort, who was he to break with tradition?


	16. By the dawn's early light

Ok it's official: I need rehab. My name's CyberJordan and I'm a Skyrimholic...or is that a Bethesdaholic? Suffice it to say between F3, New Vegas and Skyrim I've had real trouble breaking my gaming habit and getting down to writing work. Sorry I'm...just not fast. Anyway Q&A as usual:

Crimson Katana: Can't say I've ever played that one, no. Guess I was playing too much Mortal Kombat at the time I dreamt up Leon's mods (as Scorpion of course!).

Alavon: It's certainly D-Day for this poor settlement. Can't say anymore though, don't want to spoil the fun.

Anyway (uses the force) put up next chapter I have (at goddamned last!) Time for the Battle of Baltimore Haven...

**Vault 99 living quarters**

Leon, lying under a still sleeping Amata and holding her protectively in his arms, had never felt better. He'd been longing the best part of his life for what had happened a few hours ago and now that it had...he couldn't find the words. One thing was certain, neither one was in any doubt as to their feelings for each other now. Amata was the only girl for Leon now but that had probably been the case for years.

She hadn't been his first but the two other occasions he'd been in this position didn't even begin to compare. The first time had been with Lucy West just after his father died and when he'd been kicked out of the vault. He'd gone to Moriarty's bar and ended up stone drunk. A just as drunk Lucy, drinking to forget the death of her parents, had ended up taking him home and...well let's just say both were feeling awkward and blaming themselves for the 'drunken passion night' next morning. They remained firm friends but promised never to get that wasted around each other again.

The second time had been in the Pitt. Trying to worm his way into the Raiders' confidence he'd ended up sleeping (and rutting) with a Raider girl, Squill, who'd taken a real shine to him after his match in the arena. After Ashur's death at his hand he'd gotten her out of the city and moved her to Rivet City to start over. She'd wanted him to stay with her but he couldn't, his heart just wasn't in the relationship, but they'd parted friends too. She now worked for Harkness as part of the city militia and had a much better future than in the toxic bilge hole she'd had before.

He was suddenly jerked out of his memories by a knock on his room door. He gently slid out from under the still sleeping Amata, quickly put on a t-shirt and underpants and went to find Sarah at his door with a knowing grin on her face.

"You and your playmate have 20 minutes to clean up and get up to the office, Leon!"

"Wha...?" Leon was speechless.

"Don't bother trying to hide it. I went to Amata's room first and found that empty; that was clue enough. Plus the smell of this place, anyone can tell you two went at it pretty 'hard' last night!" Sarah couldn't help smirking at Leon's discomfort but she regained a serious face fast. "Well, I'll meet you two at the office, and Leon...congratulations. I hope it works out for you two, you deserve that much."

"Thanks Sarah," Leon replied as he closed the door again.

"Busted already, huh?" Amata grinned from the bedroom door.

"Like we could keep _this_ a secret?" Leon pulled his new lover into a long kiss.  
"No, not that I care!" Amata joked as she broke away. "Mind if I shower first?"  
"Sure, but don't take very long. It's going to be a hell of a day today, I can feel it."

Leon was doubly certain of that on checking the clock on his pip-boy. It was only 5am.

**Overseer's office**

"Shit!"

Dan's reaction just about summed up the feeling they all had on seeing Raven's photographs.

"Shit is right," Severance was just as despondent. "Who knew there was that many of them? They've got twice our number!"

"And _ten_ of those giant things?" Yuna wailed. "One was bad enough!"  
"No kidding," Leon mused in worry. "If they send those at us straight away we're in trouble."

"But you took one down before, right?" Mira asked him in hope.

"I took it by surprise," Leon snorted in exasperation. "Those things only have one weak point: that's the power pack on their asses. You got to hit them hard and you've got to hit them from behind. We don't have surprise this time. There are too many other cyborgs on the field and they'll be watching out for that."

"What do you think their plan will be?" Houser asked.

"If I were them I'd be set on blasting a hole in the wall with the heavy units then try and rush through en masse," Leon surmised. "They're not going to care about losing a drone or two, are they?"

"Then we've got to concentrate all the heavy firepower we've got, and by that I do meanheavy_._" Dan's tone needed no interpretation.

"Just make sure we shoot _over_ the walls," Leon warned. "Or we'll be doing their job for them!"

**Baltimore Haven defence walls**

"Alright everyone get into position, get ready!" Severance's tone was no nonsense. All around him Enclave soldiers with missile launchers and plasma guns took up positions along with settlers armed with sniper and laser rifles. Despite all this Severance's mask of confidence was just that: a mask and a facade. Severance knew what the cyborgs were capable of and these defences, impressive as they were, probably weren't going to be enough. They were outnumbered twice over and they had no reserve at all; a breach would lead into an empty rear. He thought about raising all this with Dan, Leon and Houser but quickly realised there was no point. If he'd worked all this out then so had they. He could only hope they had some reinforcements or some magic wand to tap because he had a real feeling they were going to need it.

"Movement to the front!"

Severance jumped up to an observation post on hearing the shout and looked through his binoculars. As soon as he caught the source of the movement every bone in his body seemed to freeze solid. The cyborg army had finally arrived and, as prepared as he'd been by the photos, the sight was still a horrifying one. The streets were flooded in a sea of grey, green and black armoured figures. More terrifying still were the 10 heavy units towering over the main army, they were only a little shorter than the defence walls. The only good part to all of this was that they were all gathered on one side of the settlement facing the main entrance so Severance didn't have to split his defenders; he could concentrate his fire all at one front.

"Hold it together everyone!" Severance bellowed as he heard scared sounding mutterings along the walls.

The cyborgs stopped advancing just outside firing range at the end of the streets and held position.

"What are they waiting for?" Kayla asked as she and everyone else came up onto the walls.

"Us to lose heart and to blink," Leon guessed. "If I know Alpha's thinking he'll want to take as many prisoners as he can to replace what he's lost."  
"He'll be disappointed then," Jake spat in disgust. "We all talked among ourselves last night. If they get in here and surround us we all blow our own brains out. Better dead than...whatever the fuck they are!"

"Amen to that," Houser agreed. "Everyone's with this? We fight to the last man, right?"

"Damn right!" Dan replied grimly. Other grunts of agreement were heard all the way down the wall line. Baltimore Haven had made its choice. No one wanted to die but if they were going to they'd bring as many cyborgs as they could along for the ride.

Leon coldly grinned. "With that in mind let's give them a message of our own shall we?"

**Cyborg forward position**

"Our force is ready to strike, Commander," Delta was calling in a last radio update to Alpha.

"Yes, there's no choice now since the appeal to surrender was rejected."

_The understatement of the century, _Delta thought without a trace of humour. On Alpha's orders, and against his own instincts, he'd sent two drones forward with a white flag to try and negotiate. Leon had decapitated both with precision sniper shots before they even got close. Delta hadn't been surprised in the least, not after letting Leon's party and the other scout group from last night get away. But then again this was the way he preferred it. Whilst a staunch believer in Alpha and the cyborg cause, Delta often believed that Alpha wasn't tough enough. In his mind they needed to make an example of the settlement as well as the Enclave. Unfortunately for Baltimore Haven Delta's past ruthless personality as Damon Marcus, vault chief of security, had been enhanced even further through his upgrade. In his mind humans were obsolete and his race was the future. By this logic everyone in the settlement, save Omega, was expendable. Recovering him was going to be the trickiest part of the operation and not guaranteed by any means, especially if he refused to surrender. Delta mentally shrugged; there was nothing for it now. They'd just have to do the best they could. They could always forge another Omega type if things went badly.

"Theta, since they insist on being deleted, oblige them! Move the drones forward first and give them heavy support. Suppress the defenders and take down the walls now!"

**Baltimore Haven**

"Here they come!"

"FIRE!"

Severance's loud order was quickly followed by fusillades of plasma, laser and sniper fire down on the advancing army. The first wave of drones was decimated outright; slow moving and having no cover they were sitting ducks to the death rain from the Enclave defenders. The edge shifted back quickly, however, as four of the heavy cyborgs lumbered out of the streets and took up positions alongside.

"DELETE!" All four opened up with their gun arms saturating the top of the wall with chain gun bullets. The Enclave soldiers were largely untouched as their power armour gave them good protection but the settlers didn't fare so well and 10 of them dropped like flies as rounds cut into them. Worse was to come as the heavies then raised their launcher arms and fired rockets into the walls. A chunk or two was blasted away but they held for now.

"They're going to keep pecking away until something gives!" Leon realised as a second wave of rockets hit. "Bring up the big launchers now!"  
"What already?" Severance asked with some concern. They only had very limited ammo for the 2 Fat Men they had and if any shots misfired the results could be catastrophic.

"No choice, we've got to hold out for the Brotherhood!" Leon snarled. "They get through now and we're done!"

The others knew he was right. Apart from a hastily placed minefield just inside the walls there weren't any other defences or backup. Once through the field they could just walk in.

"I'll get them!" Jake hurried off the defence walls to retrieve them from the boxes down below.

**Cyborg forward position**

Delta smiled confidently as he watched the battle play out. They'd lost 30 drones in the first few volleys but, as he'd predicted, they weren't able to stand up to the heavy cyborg units as they'd closed in. It was only a matter of time now, sooner or later the heavies would breach the walls and the settlement would be overrun with the Devastators. Fate, however, had something else in mind.

"They're moving something onto the walls," Iota reported as she looked through a set of binoculars.

Delta took them from her for a look of his own and his confidence disintegrated. "Pull back. PULL BACK!"  
Too late. Dan and Leon each fired a mini-nuke over the walls; they'd timed it to perfection as the heavy units had come in closer to try and assault the walls physically. Both aimed their shots carefully and both were perfect, each landing in a horde of drones and atomizing them but worse was to come for 2 of the heavies as their rear piping was caught by the splash damage from the 2 massive explosions. Both staggered on their feet as their cooling systems overloaded and then they self detonated in great green fireballs. The other 2 tried to pull back but they were nowhere near fast enough. Dan and Leon had ample time to reload and repeat the performance.

Delta could only watch, apoplectic with rage, as he lost 4 of his best weapons and 100 drones.

**Baltimore Haven**

You could have heard the cheering and jubilation from the defender s for miles as the heavies went down. Leon and co were not sharing the feeling however.

"Best not to tell them we've only got 2 mini-nukes left," Kayla sighed.

"We might have showed our hand too early," Leon agreed. "But there wasn't much choice. Where the hell are those Brotherhood reinforcements? If they don't get here soon they'll just walk over us!"  
"They don't know we're almost out of nukes," Amata tried to rally some hope as she slapped in a new microfusion clip.

Sarah shook her head grimly. "Maybe not. But I don't think they're going to give us a chance to use them."  
She pointed at the cyborg lines where the other 6 heavies were lining up out of effective nuke range...

**Cyborg forward position**

After calming down a little Delta had changed strategy. He'd now positioned the heavies further away and had them start aiming their rockets straight at the defenders' positions on the ramparts.

"Have the drones advance again," he coldly ordered Theta. "Give them all the explosives we have and undermine the walls if they can. Keep the Devastators in reserve for now. We'll unleash them when we get a breach."  
"Complying!"  
"Iota, it's time for our secondary plan."  
Iota smiled coldly. "I've pulled away 15 Devastators as you ordered and the cutting equipment is ready too. "  
"Good. Continue the battle here Theta. Keep all their efforts focused on you; the fools must not know what we're about until it's too late!"

**Baltimore Haven**

Things were suddenly not going so well as rocket after rocket slammed into the defence ramparts. More were dying as limbs were blown off and others fell from the walls as human torches.

"Damn it! The bastards are pinning us down!" Jake cursed as a rocket flew over his head and hit one of the apartment buildings. He popped up again and scored a perfect decapitation on an approaching drone.

"Even the ones that miss us are doing damage," Yuna was almost crying at the sight of her home being bombarded and reduced to rubble.

"Major, I'd get your last two Vertibirds in the air," Sarah suggested. "I know they're pretty much our last card but we've got to try and stop those things somehow!"

"We'll try our best!" Houser replied coldly. Everyone noticed he'd changed into a pilot flight suit.

"You're going up, Major?" Dan was incredulous. "I'm not so sure that's a good plan!"  
"I'm not standing around while everyone else is fighting and those metal rejects knock down everything we worked to build!" Houser's tone brooked no argument. "Keep fighting, Dan! We WILL win this!"  
"You heard him, let those fuckers have it! Give them all we've got!" Severance screamed as he started blasting away with his plasma rifle again.

Raven followed suit as she hefted a missile launcher and blew two drones away with a well placed shot.

"Look out, rocket coming in!"  
"AAAAAGGGHHH!"  
"AMATA!" Leon rushed over to his girlfriend's side as a heavy rocket scored a hit on her guard tower and she was hit by shrapnel. It wasn't a mortal hit but her left arm was crippled.

"I've got her, Leon, keep firing!" Sarah jammed a stimpak into Amata's arm.  
Leon nodded grimly and rejoined the firing line. Despite the 50 or so losses they'd taken up to now the defenders were doing well. The casualties inflicted on the drone cyborgs would have demoralised any other force but the problem was this enemy just didn't care. The dead were left where they fell, the attack lines just kept going despite half of them dropping and, in spite of every effort, some were getting through to plant charges and limpet mines on the wall.

Leon cursed mentally. They were doing well, better than anyone could have expected but it still wasn't enough. The cyborgs still hadn't committed their main force of Devastators and they still had 6 heavies. Unless help came through soon it was pretty clear they were done...

**Cyborg forward position**

Theta was marshalling the Devastators into battle lines as he prepared to implement the final part of their battle plan. It wouldn't be long before the walls were breached and they could rush in. Their advance would not be stopped, more nukes or not.

"Are you close to breaching the walls?" Delta's impatient voice came over the radio. "We are almost through the sewer route."  
Delta's secondary plan was simple. Whilst the defenders were up on the walls and focused on the threat outside he and his small squad would be cutting through the sealed sewer access tunnels and infiltrating Vault 99 itself. Then when the gates were breached he'd attack the vault simultaneously and ensure victory.

"We are trying, Commander, but the walls are proving more resilient than anticipated."

"Alert! Aircraft approaching!"  
Theta didn't need the Devastator's warning. He'd already seen the two Vertibirds screaming down from the sky and raining chain gun fire onto the forward drones and he cursed mentally. This would cause yet another delay and wouldn't do much for Delta's mood.

"Return fire!"

A volley of Multiplas and tri beam laser fire was sent into the sky but no hits were scored on the fast moving Vertibirds.

"What is happening? Report!" Delta's voice was growing anger as well as impatience.

"They've launched their last Vertibirds against us."

"Ignore them. Their ordinance is limited and they can't stop us with only two vehicles," Delta coldly snapped. "Continue the assault."

"Complying!"

**Vertibird 1 **

"Damn it Carson, don't waste rockets on the small fry! Save them for the big ones!"  
"Sorry Major. But the guns aren't doing anything!"

Houser swore under his breath. His wingman, inexperienced as he was, had a point. They were scoring a kill or two here and there but they weren't stopping the advance. The only real way to cause damage to these cyborgs was to use the rockets and they only had so many of those.

"Alright, form on my wing and follow me. We'll take down the big heavies with what we've got left. "

"Roger," Carson replied nervously.

Houser clamped down on his own nerves as he armed the rockets and started his run.

**Cyborg forward position**

The rocket barrage from above caused Theta and his Devastators to duck and cover. Once he'd picked himself back up he discovered, much to his chagrin, that another heavy was down. Carson's shot had gone wild and slammed into a nearby ruined office block but Houser had hit its power pack right on the button. Theta bit down on his anger and thought quickly on his feet as he saw the Vertibirds banking around for another run. A wild idea crossed his mind.

"Assume firing positions!" he barked at the Devastators. "Complete barrage on my mark!"

As he hoped the Vertibirds were coming onto the same attack route they'd used last time to strike another heavy. His cyborgs hadn't been able to shoot them down before because they'd been shooting at random. A concentrated barrage when they passed overhead however...

Theta saw the two Vertibirds turn inbound. This would take precise timing but he would make the Enclave pay for its predictability.

**Vertibird 1 **

Houser's world suddenly got turned upside down as a sea of green and red fire suddenly burst from the ground in front of him. His years of training and experience saved him as he slammed the craft into a hard turn and barely dodged the cyborg barrage only receiving a light hit to his left wing. Carson, not nearly as trained or experienced, wasn't so lucky as multiple Multiplas and laser hits slammed home. Houser could only watch helplessly and listen to his terrified screams of anguish as the stricken Vertibird started to plunge out of the sky. The bad luck wasn't to end there though. Bile rose in Houser's throat as he realised just _where _the Vertibird was crashing...

**Baltimore Haven**

Just about all hope evaporated on the defence walls as the Vertibird slammed headlong into the main gates and blew them clean off their hinges. The explosion and falling debris set off the mines behind as well and what was left was nothing but a great big fat hole.

"Oh fuck!" Sarah's words just about said it all. Their luck hadn't only run out on them but it seemed to have stabbed them in the back while doing so. There was nothing left between them and about 200 or so Devastators...

**Cyborg forward position**

"Breach achieved, Commander Delta. You can commence your attack!"  
"Excellent! Advance everything we have. Firepower to maximum, delete them all!"  
"Complying!" Theta's face was locked in a cold sneer. "All forces forward! Delete all opposition!"  
The cybernetic horde surged forward like a tidal wave. 20 or so hysterical settlers were trying to flee out of the gate and they didn't stand a chance as a hail of green and red bolts reduced them to goo and ash.

Theta drew his own gun and went to join his force. With this breakthrough and Delta tunnelling up from underneath and cutting them off victory was now assured and the revenge of the cyborg race would be complete. It didn't matter where they tried to run to; Baltimore Haven was about to become Baltimore Mortuary...


	17. Pyrrhic victory

Oh man, this was the most difficult one yet and after six rewrites it's finally done. I really got myself stuck in a rut with writer's block and plot trouble this time. It's easy to enjoy these action movies and playing in game battles but putting it on paper and getting your heroes out of a fix is something else. Hope you guys find the end result worth it.

**Deafstalker**: Your (overdue) fix is here. Not sure I'd call this fic epic, I don't think I'm in commandocucumber's class but I hope it's ok for most.

**Enclave Supporter**: Your POV is deeper than I thought. Along with Zeref Alemer you've given me an idea or two for the aftermath. You're right about the Western Brotherhood (and Outcasts) though Lyons' renegade chapter's approach is a little different to their techno obsessed ways. I'd certainly agree about the other western factions too. The NCR has become a congress/elite self-serving cabal whilst the Legion are slavers and raiders in fancy dress. The remnants are free to start over but I think they will have to literally start over. The Enclave brand and the US flag have been pissed over by the actions of the leadership. The trust between the Enclave and the people has been broken and ruined for years, possibly longer. Still your basic idea, and ideal, of unification have a lot of potential.

Any way time for a victory mixed with some cameos and a lot of heartbreak.

**Baltimore Haven**

"FALL BACK!"  
No one needed telling twice. Most of the settlers were trying to take cover in the apartment blocks despite them still being hit by rockets. The Enclave soldiers tried to form a protective line to cover their retreat, a job made all the harder by the rain of fire the cyborgs were throwing through the wrecked gates.

"Now what?" Jake asked in despair as he found cover behind a rock pile next to Leon and Sarah.

"We keep fighting, what else?" Leon snapped back. "All the way back to the vault if we need to. If this is a last stand we take as many of them down as we can!"  
His attempt to raise morale was blunted by an Enclave trooper getting plasma liquefied in front of them as he tried to join them behind cover. Others were meeting the same fate as wave after wave of energy fire slammed into their line. Leon had hidden it well but he was now shit scared. He had no plan, no way out, no nothing. He kept firing his gun with a sinking feeling that this was one shithole he would not be digging himself out of...

**Vault 99**

The shit was about to hit the fan down in the vault too. Delta and his group had breached the sewers and were cutting into the vault's emergency exit door.

"Arm weapons. Delete all opposition," Delta coldly ordered. He'd decided he wasn't going to risk any more of his best cyborgs in useless capture attempts today. The drones could be replaced from elsewhere over time.

"Complying!" Iota was just as eager after what the Enclave had done to them at Vault 66. She didn't have long to wait before the cutting was complete and the door was knocked inward. The 15 Devastator cyborgs wasted no time in rushing inward and gunning down three hapless vault dwellers as they were caught on the hop. The few guards and others that tried after that fared no better.

It didn't take long for the word to reach Jim Lawson in the Overseer's office; all of two minutes in fact. The flood of fleeing and screaming people from the lower levels was clue enough.

"How the hell did they breach the vault?" he angrily asked Roger Danson.

"They got in through the emergency exit," Roger was weeping. "My son and his friends tried to hold them back and they were..."

Jim grimaced in sorrow and rage. "I'm sorry. Get topside with the others now. Do what you can up there and don't let those freaks take you."  
"What about you?"

"The vault is breached and we're as good as surrounded. There's only one thing left to do and it's my job to make sure it happens." He would wait as long as possible for stragglers to get out before using the lockdown control from his console. Whatever happened these cyborgs would not reach Leon, his daughter or any of the women and children currently fleeing through the door. He knew what staying would mean but he had no regrets. He hadn't missed the chemistry between Yuna and Jake and she had many other friends now. He was the leader of this settlement so he would hold here and lock the vault down once everyone was out. He didn't want to be a martyr but the live of his people took precedence.  
"No, you're not doing this alone. I'm staying with you," Roger said fiercely. "They killed my family and my dreams. Let's make sure theirs are fucked too!" 

**Baltimore Haven**

The situation was no better outside. Leon and the surface fighters had been forced back to the front of the apartment blocks by now where Doc Farnsworth had set up his field hospital. He'd had to abandon his patients, including Amata, on their stretchers and had joined Leon on the firing line with a plasma pistol of his own.

"How much longer can we hold them?"

"Not much longer Doc," Dan said grimly. "We're almost out of ammo too!"

"Better save the last shots for us," Leon said grimly. "Death before cyber conversion right?"

He wished he could have sounded more hopeful but there wasn't any hope to be had. The Devastators were starting to come through the main gate still firing as they came. He was a little heartened when he saw a rocket slam into the cyber column's side outside the gate. Major Houser still hadn't given up even though the situation was all but hopeless. Leon's face contorted into a confused frown as he saw another rocket impact, and another, and another. Where were all those rockets coming from?

"Above us!" Jake screamed with elation.

Leon stole a look up to see six Vertibirds above them firing rocket after rocket into the Devastator group. He grinned and started aiming his gun with new purpose. It seemed there was still hope in the situation yet...

**Brotherhood lead-over Baltimore Haven**

Paladin Vargas stared down in amazement at the settlement below. It defied all belief that they'd held out as long as they had. Time to make sure they survived.

"Alright, group 2 hit that column! Pin them down in the gates if you can. Group 1 with us, follow our lead!"

Vargas's Vertibird, along with the other 5 over the settlement, swung away to allow the Brotherhood's 6 other captured ships an attack run on the Devastators. Whilst they unleashed another volley of rockets into them, group 1 turned its attention to the remaining heavies outside. Without supporting cover fire the lumbering heavy cyborgs were sitting ducks for the Brotherhood pilots. A few well placed rocket shots later and all 6 became fireballs and burning husks.  
"Ready?"Vargas called over his shoulder to the rest of the Pride who were prepping for a combat drop behind him.

"Just drop us in and let us kill some tin cans!" Kodiak grinned under his helmet.

"Just get those Fat Men ready to fire," Vargas ordered. "Flatten them as soon as you get a clear shot!"

**Vault 99**

Delta was having an easy time of it. He'd blown past all opposition with no trouble and, in some cases, a little 'fun' thrown in. Snapping Ron Danson's neck when he'd rushed at him was one; gutting two other guards with the sword blade on his wrist had been another. The depth of his hatred for organic life was limitless; the amount of patience he had wasn't so much though. Especially once he'd battled his way up to the Overseer's office to find the lockdown on the door had been engaged and with it all access through to the surface had been cut off.

Roger Danson had enough time to empty his pistol in a futile last stand before he was cut down by Iota's plasma rifle.

Jim Lawson sat in his chair looking coldly detached with a 9mm sidearm pointing in their direction.

"Give it up," Delta smiled coldly. "You've already lost."  
"On the contrary, _Delta_," Jim spat with hatred knowing what this thing had tried to do to his poor daughter. "It's your side that's lost. We've all made our choice and it is not to be like you. Good luck getting to my girl and Leon now...see you in hell!"

Before anyone could stop him Jim turned his pistol on himself and blew his own brains across the floor.

Delta was at a loss at the mayor's actions until a moment of realisation hit him. He screamed in rage when he accessed the console and discovered the truth: Jim had not only engaged the lockdown but he'd code locked the release and the only person who knew the release code had just killed himself in front of him.

"Not to worry," Iota advised. "Theta's force is still on the surface and they can't escape. Now that we have the vault victory is assured."  
"Don't be so sure!" Delta snarled as he looked at the camera views from the Overseer's terminal and saw how the battle was faring outside. Growling in almost feral anger at the scene his gaze flitted across to another camera view; namely toward the engineering section that housed the vault's water chip...

**Baltimore Haven**

Theta couldn't believe how quickly the wheel had turned. A mere two minutes ago he was leading a triumphant and unstoppable force through the shattered gates of Baltimore Haven. Then, all of a sudden, his forces were getting rockets rained down on them from above and he'd lost 20 of his force before he'd even realised what was going on. A second rocket wave hit them before they'd had a chance to catch their breath or take cover causing even more casualties. But the worst was still to come.

"Alert! Human forces to rear!" Theta was now feeling real fear as he saw the mass of troops, power armoured and otherwise, pouring out of the landing Vertibirds. The Pride was at the head and Theta's blood chilled as he saw what two of them were hauling on their shoulders.

"Retreat! Take cov..." Theta had no time to finish before Vargas and Kodiak fired two mini-nukes right into the middle of the Devastator force and he was flung backward several feet by the dual explosion. The vast bulk of the Devastators were not so lucky, even their advanced armour couldn't withstand nuclear blast at point blank range. As if things couldn't get any worse for Theta the settlement defenders, led by Leon, opened up again with a massive barrage of plasma fire. Another barrage of plasma, lasers and bullets flew at them from the Vertibirds' side. His forces; or what was left of them were caught on two fronts in two lines of fire and in a tactically hopeless position. Even they could only withstand so much, this point was made even clearer when 2 more mini-nukes were fired at them; destroying nearly all of the cyborgs who'd found cover behind the bodies of their comrades.

Theta tried to run for one of the apartment blocks along with the few who were left but it was a forlorn effort. Leon calmly tracked the fleeing Theta and coldly snapped off 5 VATS assisted laser shots which sent him crashing to the ground. Other bursts of fire from his friends on the defence line disposed of the rest.

"Talk about some good timing!" Kayla found her voice thirty seconds after the shooting had stopped.

"Yeah," Leon exhaled heavily.

"Leon! Are you ok up there?"  
_What?_ Leon knew that voice very well but knew its owner shouldn't be all the way out here. His eyes soon told him different as they saw the red-headed girl in green Combat Armour emerge from behind the cyborgs' bodies.

"Reilly?" Leon's mouth was hanging open at the sight of her.

"Cat got your tongue for once, Leon?" Reilly grinned. "You came through for my team so we came out for you!"

"We?" It didn't take long for Leon to figure out what she meant as Donovan, Brick and Butcher appeared to stand alongside her. The Rangers were not the only surprises in store. Coming up behind them were another group in mercenary outfits and wearing dark hoods.

"Quite a lot of the wasteland owes you a debt," the cold voice of Vance, the leader of the Family, was unmistakable.

"You can bet a heap of caps on that," Sydney, one-time relic hunter, had appeared with her girlfriend Emaline alongside Reilly.

Leon's shock only grew bigger as he saw familiar faces in Baltimore Haven's rescuers. Dusty, Red and Shorty from Big Town. Harkness, Squill and Danvers from Rivet City. His old flame Lucy West, Jericho and Lucas Simms from Megaton. Hannibal Hamlin, Roy, ex Protector McGraw and Scribe Olin, Charon, Fawkes, Uncle Leo...and the list went on. Nearly every memorable friend he'd made was here. Aside from the Pride, Paladin Tristan and a few scraps, the rescue force had been non-Brotherhood.

"Vargas, what's going on? Since when did the Brotherhood do this?" Sarah was grateful for the rescue but was starting to wonder what had happened at the Citadel in her absence.

"No choice, Sentinel," Vargas said. "While you were away the muties upped the attacks and we've had our hands full defending the settlements and Project Purity. We needed another solution and this was it. We broadcast it yesterday when we first got your message."

Vargas brought out a holotape and passed it to Leon who fed it into his pip-boy. He was only half surprised when the voice of Three Dog came on.

_...it's time for the news and this time round a special announcement. I know you've all been hungry for more news about our one and only saint from Vault 101; well I've got it but it's not at all good. He's still fighting the Good Fight but a fair ways from here and he's in real trouble. Ok children, I know I've said before that we could never repay the Lone Wanderer for all he's done? Well I'm taking that back. There IS a way you can pay him back and it's time to step up to the plate and do that now. I'll let our other protectors explain._

There was a noticeable pause as Three Dog passed the mic over.

_This is Paladin Tristan of the Brotherhood of Steel. The Lone Wanderer is currently engaged in a life or death struggle against a cyborg army in Baltimore. An army that is half man, half machine and all intent on wiping out everything that we hold dear. Make no mistake; even the Enclave threat pales when compared to this one and if it is not stopped untold misery will result. Typically the Lone Wanderer has thrown himself headlong at this threat. He has been the wasteland's constant shield and has never needed help...until now. The Brotherhood is committing our elite forces to assist in the north but this is not enough. The recent rise in Super Mutant attacks has strained us to the limit. Therefore I am asking for any volunteers to report to the Citadel as soon as possible for transport north to join the Wanderer in repelling this threat. I will not lie to you; this mission is high risk and heavy combat against a well armed and dangerous enemy. The threat sounds like a fantasy nightmare but it is verifiable and it is very real and if we wait it will become a living nightmare we will never wake up from. If you care anything for the Wanderer, or your own homes and families for that matter, report to the front of the Citadel at once. The Lone Wanderer and the Brotherhood need you...today._

"We were expecting maybe 30 or so volunteers at best," Vargas explained as the recording finished. "We got flooded! Nearly ten times that is what we got. We had to handpick 60 or so of the best from all that."

"So that's why it took so long," Leon realised. "You were sorting the wheat from the chaff so to speak, getting them armed and prepped overnight and then up here."

"Also the good apples from the rotten," Reilly revealed. "A few of those Talon bastards tried to mix in so they could have another shot at you. Good thing we sniffed them out."

Sarah growled in anger when she heard that. "Another good reason to step on them when this is all over!"

Leon rolled his eyes. It beggared belief they were still trying to claim on that contract considering the situation and how many of them he'd left as cold corpses; then again greed and stupidity were always good bedfellows.

"Leon!" Dan's loud voice called near one of the apartment blocks. "This one's still alive!"

It was Theta. He had been badly hit; his armour and metal head side was leaking a mix of blood and lubricant from sparking exposed circuitry and his organic face was black and burned. Oddly enough, though, what was left of his face didn't seem to hold a hostile expression.

"This isn't the leader!" Raven came up beside Leon. "There was a bigger one acting as leader and a woman too."

"Delta and Iota," Leon agreed. He'd seen both through binoculars from the walls before the attack. "Where is he?"

"Leon...thank...you."

For the second time that day Leon was speechless, this time because the gasping words had come from Theta! Leon had just mortally wounded him and Theta was thanking him?

Theta was coughing up blood and he didn't have long left. "My...name...was Will once. Now...it is again. Thank you...Leon."

With those words Theta's head slumped forward for the last time as he expired leaving a shell shocked group of observers behind.

"What did he mean?" Farnsworth mused.

"I've got a good idea," Leon reasoned. "For now let's just say I don't think Professor Vaughan got his primary upgrade process right either. In a way it could be said they're victims as well."

"That's debatable, Omega!"

Leon's face hardened as he heard Delta's arrogant voice from the radio on Theta's belt. He quickly grabbed it.

"Delta! Where are you? Show yourself you coward!"

"I was trying to ensure a clean victory so I went downstairs for awhile," Delta shot back flippantly. "I'm still there now though I won't be for much longer."

A chill went up Leon's spine on hearing that. It got worse as he saw a stream of terrified screaming women and children running from the direction of the vault.

"He's in the vault!" A mortified Yuna caught on to Delta's words and she grabbed the radio from Leon. "Where's my dad, you metal bastard?"  
Down below in the vault engineering section Delta snorted contemptuously. "If you mean the Overseer or the guard captain here they foolishly tried to oppose us and they were deleted!"

Yuna gasped in horror and disbelief as Delta's words tore her heart out.

Leon grabbed the radio back as his rage built. "When I find you..."

"Ah but you _won't _Omega. At least not today. The vault door is sealed down and you can't get to me. I'm just calling to let you know this 'victory' of yours means nothing! The cyborg race is still alive and it will have its moment still. If this settlement will not be ours then it will cease to exist!"

On hearing that Leon knew where Delta was and what he was about to do. "Get everyone away from the vault!"

Down below Delta was just finishing his work, namely overloading the water chip and causing a chain reaction that would also blow the reactor. "Iota, evacuate the squad now and retreat through the sewers. By the time the organic fools think to search we'll be long gone."

With a cruel sneer he hit the button authorising a systems purge and started a warning klaxon sounding through the vault. A few minutes later the water chip system, and the reactor, went into overload and Vault 99 ceased to be.

On the surface everyone could only watch helplessly as the vault self detonated followed by a scream of pure anguish from Yuna...

**Baltimore Haven-2 hours later**

"How's the arm?" An exhausted Leon asked a now recovered Amata as they helped tend to the wounded and lift them onto the Vertibirds.

"It's ok. More than can be said for everyone else, it seems," Amata sighed.

"No kidding," Sarah muttered. "Some victory!"

Although they'd prevailed, the cost had been high, exorbitant in fact. The Enclave force was down to 65 men total, including the Major, Dan, Kayla and Thomas Severance. Between the deaths in the vault, the wall and the cyborg breakthrough the settlers had lost two thirds of their number as well. Yuna had not been the only one orphaned today; not by a long shot. To make matters worse, the settlement wasn't even habitable anymore. The vault was destroyed and the water supply along with it; plus the apartment blocks had taken far too much rocket damage. Two were in danger of toppling and others were so exposed to the elements now as to make them useless. Given all this the Brotherhood had no choice but to start airlifting the survivors back to the Capital Wasteland.

"I know this is bad," Doc Farnsworth tried to put a brave face on it. "But this is better than outright defeat even if..."

They looked wistfully at the almost inconsolable Yuna, still sobbing in Jake's arms.

"The worst thing is I know exactly how she's feeling," Leon grimaced. "An enemy killing her father and not being able to do anything. All this power I've gained and I can't do a thing to ease her pain. I just wish there was more I could do."

"How did you get over your pain?" Amata asked gently. "Maybe she could learn from..."  
"No she couldn't," Leon cut that off firmly. "What worked for me won't work for her. Between getting piss drunk, getting in bed and having sex with an equally drunk friend and then becoming a one man Enclave killing machine I didn't handle it well at all. At least she doesn't have to face it alone like I did."

"A few words from you might still help," Farnsworth pressed. "You're proof that one can go through this and still live a good life."

Leon nodded as he knew there was something in that. He went over and gently pulled Yuna out of her fierce embrace with Jake. "I'm so sorry Yuna."

"Oh Leon, I didn't even get to say goodbye!" Yuna got out between sobs.

Leon knew he'd have been weeping if he was still biologically capable. "When my dad died I didn't either. I know it seems like your life's over but..."  
"But what Leon? My dad, my home, so many of my friends...all gone! Why did they do it? What was the point?"  
Leon gave it to her straight. "Call it what you like. For the Romans it was called poisoning the well, for the Russians it was scorched earth. But it just boils down to spite. Pure unadulterated spite. If they can't have it we can't either. I think it was more Delta's idea than Alpha, though he's just as much to blame."

Hatred crossed Yuna's tear streaked face. "Let me go after them, Leon. When I find Delta I'll..."

Leon shook his head. "No Yuna. That's my job. Whatever else happens your dad would want you to live. Of that I am certain. Look at it this way; we're all going to end up where our dads have gone someday. We'll join them again someday; until then live your life to the full."

"You really believe that?" Yuna never pegged Leon for the philosophical or spiritual type.

"Better than believing in nothing. Jake! Take her with you." Leon nodded at him and he pulled Yuna back into his arms. "Get on the next bird. You'll have to start over with us in DC."

"You sure we can't help?" Jake asked hopefully.

"I think Yuna needs you more than I do now, Jake. So do a lot of your other friends. You take care of that. I'll take care of Alpha."

Jake was a little disappointed. He wanted a crack at Delta and Alpha himself but he knew Leon was right.

"Amata, you should go with them," Leon said as he rejoined her and Sarah.

"What? I go through all this and you're still trying to protect me?" Amata was almost indignant.

"That's not it, Amata. I was just thinking that, well after all we've been through with those two I can only think of one place they can start over, right?"

"Grayditch?" Sarah said with a knowing smile.

"Yeah. But your dad and the others back there will need some convincing. I can't think of a better Overseer to do it, can you Amata?" Amata's face lost her indignant look as she realised what Leon was getting at. "Amata, I have no doubts about your abilities anymore. You rescued me after all; not something many can claim. But Jake, Yuna and all these others need your help resettling. They're just like our vault friends were when we came out of 101; homeless, scared and fragile, especially in Yuna's case."

Amata wished Leon hadn't got a point but she knew he had. "Ok, but why does it have to be me? I want to see everything through."  
"One thing you've always been good at is persuading people, Amata. Your dad and the others will listen more to you than anyone else."  
"But you're going back to Vault 66 aren't you?" Amata asked with some worry.

Leon nodded grimly. "The ones behind this slaughter can't be allowed to just walk away. Or rebuild and try again. I'm going back and I'm taking Alpha out this time."  
Amata managed a weak smile. "You sure you're not going to need rescuing again?"

"He had numbers and surprise last time. He doesn't have either now," Leon was certain. "It took time to activate his army and send them at us and he'd need more time to bring more online, time we're not going to let him have."

"Damn straight!" An embittered Dan had joined them along with Kayla, Severance and Houser. "We're ready to go anytime Leon."

"So are the Pride," Sarah chimed in. "We'll make Alpha regret what he's done today."

"We all will!" Reilly promised. The cyborgs had given Talon Company a run for their money in butchery today as far as she was concerned.

"Ok. I'll take the Pride, the Rangers, Dan's group and a few others in half the Vertibirds," Leon decided. "Let's give these monsters the modern equivalent of a mob with torches and pitchforks!"

**Aberdeen rail tunnel**

The call that Delta and Iota had been dreading came when they were halfway through the tunnel on their way home.

"How long before you return?"  
"Half an hour, Commander, please forgive our failure," Iota replied.  
"It is more my fault than yours, Iota. I let my emotions get the best of me and I should have anticipated Omega calling in Brotherhood reinforcements. You and Delta carried out your part to perfection; though maybe destroying their vault will do us more harm than good. Anyway, return with all haste. I'm activating the Phoenix protocol."

Both Delta and Iota were taken aback. "Is that really necessary?" Delta finally asked.

"Now that you destroyed Vault 99 it is," Alpha almost snorted. "I can understand why you did it, Delta, but all it may have done is enrage Omega and his friends still further. In any event they will be coming after us now. You must return immediately. Though Vault 66 may fall our race must not. You and Iota must ensure that."  
"What about you?" Delta was now more than concerned.

"I will do what I must. I think that the only thing that will satisfy Omega is if I am deleted by his hand. If that is what must happen to ensure our race's survival then so be it."

Alpha disconnected the call before Delta could try and talk him out of it and rose from his chair in the Overseer's office. He had a few preparations of his own to make and very little time to do them. He knew Leon was coming for him and that was fine as far as he was concerned. In Alpha's mind it was time to see which of them was the worthier... 


	18. Alpha vs Omega

Damn it, 2 blasted months! Between my new job, extreme writer's block, a relative's broken leg and hospital attention and everything else I've got going on I've had a crap writing schedule. But I AM NOT GIVING UP!

Zeref Alemer: I didn't quite have The Illusive Man in mind when I created Alpha: I thought the likes of Saren, Hans Grosse or Albert Wesker were closer to the mark as Alpha isn't entirely an armchair villain and will battle himself. But having just finished Mass Effect 3 I see where you're coming from. (It was priceless when the Illusive Man realised he was nothing more than Saren mk2 and a Reaper puppet!) The ending I've got now is different from what I originally planned but I'm saying no more!

Bluedragon 81: Glad to hear it as would you believe I've never been to the north east US? I worked off internet street maps and grafted Fallout stuff onto them.

This is the penultimate chapter folks. Enjoy!

**Lead Vertibird**

"Leon?"  
Sarah's voice jerked him out of thought. "What is it?"  
"When that cyborg died, there was something real strange about it. You said you had an idea?"  
"Yeah. An idea that Alpha and his primary friends are...a little schizoid."  
"Schizoid? As in split personalities?"  
"In this case _programmed _personalities," Leon explained. "Alpha's language gave it away. Remember he kept talking about his 'previous self' and 'new designation'. At first I thought he just renamed himself to put his bad past behind him. But when that one's armour gave out and he died back there..."  
"...that was the real him talking to us!" Sarah realised. "So Alpha and all the rest are walking programs?"

Leon nodded. "Cooked up in a Vault-Tec lab and downloaded into them via neural probe when they were upgraded. Probably supposed to make them perfect soldiers believing in total American superiority. Instead it overrides their personalities altogether and installs new ones, or in Delta's case, makes a violent personality worse. "  
"And we get unhinged cyborgs believing in total cybernetic superiority," Sarah shook her head in disbelief.

"Typical pre war government and Vault-Tec fuck up," Leon snorted cynically.

"All of which means the real Professor Vaughan and the other vault dwellers are trapped in their own bodies?" Dan asked as the horror of it became apparent.

"Yeah. Imagine being stuck in your own body seeing everything through your own eyes but with someone else in your head pulling the levers and controlling your every move. That's what they've been through the last 2 centuries."

"Jesus, that's scary," Reilly, along with nearly everyone else in the Vertibird, looked almost physically ill.

"Can we bring any of them back?" Kayla managed to ask.

"I don't see it. We'd probably have to fry half their head circuits to do it like I did with the last one; only thing is that pretty much takes out the brain and kills them as a side effect. As Doc Farnsworth said once they're converted they stay that way. There's only one release we can give them."

Sarah nodded. "And we've got to give it to them. They're too dangerous to live."

"2 more minutes to landing. Get ready!" The pilot's shout prompted everyone to give their guns a final check.

**Vault 66-Overseer's Office**

"All the essential personnel for the Phoenix Protocol have been revived and the equipment is loaded too. Everything is prepared," Iota almost sounded depressed. "Are you sure you want to do this?"  
"What I want is not entirely relevant anymore, Iota," Alpha replied almost with a tinge of regret. "I'd sooner not be doing this but I don't see any other choice."  
Delta wasn't convinced. "I do. Let me face him."

"As tempting as that is, it cannot be," Alpha said firmly. "My recent misjudgements have brought us to ruin. If I am to lead us again I have to prove that I am worthy of it."

Delta and Iota knew there was no talking him down once they heard that. Alpha had lost a lot of self confidence after the defeat at Baltimore Haven.

Delta finally broke the silence. "We'll wait for you at the first relay point. If you haven't joined us in a day..."

"If I'm late it will be because I'm deleted," Alpha grunted."Do you have it?"  
Delta passed Alpha a small remote control. "It has been an honour, Commander Alpha."

"The honour is mine. Now go, Delta. Make sure our race rises again!"

**Vault 66 entrance**

As soon as Leon's team landed they came under laser fire from six drones that charged out of the entrance. Drones that hadn't lasted long against the rain of fire aimed in return.

"Everyone all right?" Leon called back as the last drone fell.

"No problem. That's what worries me," Sarah's face had gained a concerned expression.

"Yeah. Too easy," Dan agreed. "Where's Delta? I thought he'd have had a go at us by now."

Leon snorted. "If he won't come to us let's find him."  
Sarah nodded. "All right. Vargas, you and the Pride wait here and secure the entrance. If it isn't us coming back out, shoot."

"Done."

Dan and Kayla went in first but found no other cyborgs in the entrance foyer. "Clear."

Leon, Sarah and the Rangers quickly joined them inside.

Leon was incredulous. "They can't pull the same trick twice. Where the hell are they?"

She'd no sooner said that before he got an answer over the vault's loudspeakers.  
"I'm still here, Omega. I'm down on Level 5 waiting for you in fact. Don't delay, we have much to discuss."

"After what happened last time, Alpha? You must be even more nuts than I thought!" Dan bellowed. "What trick have you got this time?"  
"No trick at all Enclave lackey," Alpha replied coolly. "Thanks to your victory I have almost nothing left. As I said I'm waiting on Level 5 alone. Come down and we'll settle this once and for all."

Leon managed a bitter laugh. "So he fancies himself as General Custer does he? Come on; let's give him the last stand he wants."

**Level 5: outside Overseer's Office**

To the amazement of the team Alpha had been telling the truth. All the doors in the vault were open and no cyborgs were waiting in ambush anywhere. They duly found Alpha waiting on the lower level of the Overseer's area.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't be coming, Omega."

"My name's Leon, not Omega!" Leon snarled, leaping over the balcony and landing in front of Alpha. "I'm still human and I'm still alive despite all your efforts."

"And now here you are with your friends to finish me off. You have an odd taste in friends lately," Alpha almost smirked as he glanced at Dan and Kayla. "Did you forget the events of last year so quickly?"  
"No I haven't," Leon was seething at that remark. The one thing he really didn't like was to be reminded of the past.

"Then why do you protect these old world relics so much? They deleted your father, they tried to steal his life's work and roll over the land you worked so hard to protect, all in the name of a failed nation consigned to extinction."  
"Autumn and Eden did, not them," Leon had no hesitation in defending Dan and Kayla after all they'd been through. "And for all your dissing of the Enclave, you know what I find so funny? That you make exactly the same mistakes they did!"  
"What?" Alpha was taken aback.

"Yeah. A big force that kidnaps and violates people against their will? That tries to roll over them and steal their homes, and their humanity in your case? Imposing a new order they don't need or want? I don't see much difference from where I'm standing."  
It was Alpha's turn to be enraged. "You dare compare me to them?"  
"I do!" Leon's voice was getting more charged. "You're just like Eden on a few levels. You see humanity as a load of cattle to do as you will with. You just rely on pure logic and tactical simulations all the time and, most of all, you don't have any soul to speak of. Eden was no different, arrogantly thinking he could talk me into supporting his 'big picture' and virus infection plan. Anyone with half a soul and heart would have known I wouldn't give a fuck about his big picture knowing he was responsible for my dad. Hell, even Autumn figured that out before Eden did in the end. You're nothing without compassion and a soul."  
"If I am that, Lone Wanderer, it is because that is how they and this world made me!" Alpha snarled. "You think I'm a monster? You should have been there 200 years ago. The men my old self worked with were monsters! You've seen the results of their work throughout the wasteland and you've fought a lot of them. Is trying to end all of that and evolving humanity further so much of a sin?"  
Leon shook his head sadly. "The price is too high. You call reducing humans to drones and stripping away their emotions evolution? You might as well kill us right off. I'll admit you had to work amongst morons and power grubbing idiots two centuries ago but now you've become like them, the tragedy is you can't even see it."

"We're wasting our breath. Let's be done with it," Reilly could listen to no more. "There's nothing to stop us killing him right now!"  
"That's a matter of opinion," Alpha retorted as he revealed the remote control in his hand. "Want to guess as to this device's function?"  
"No need to guess," Sarah growled. "But you don't strike me as the martyr type."

"I'm not intent on detonating myself and all of you unless I'm forced to."  
"So what do you want?" Dan muttered. "If you think we're going to let you walk away after this..."  
Alpha cut him off. "Simply a duel. I've no intention of being deleted, but if I'm going to, then I choose this."

"A duel with Leon? What's that supposed to accomplish?" Sarah was confused.

"You and your friends are as set in your ideals as I am in mine, Lone Wanderer," Alpha pointed out. "Time to see which of us believes in them more. Whoever wins gets to lead humanity into tomorrow."

"All right, you got it!"  
"Leon, that's nuts! You're giving him just what he wants?" Kayla was aghast.

"No it's what we both want."

Leon could see Alpha's logic: he was suffering a crisis of faith and he needed to beat Leon this way to restore it. Not that it was going to work as far as Leon was concerned.

Alpha set the remote into a small niche on his chest plate. "Just to ensure no outside interference. I've set a ten minute delay on it if you win and my vital functions cease."

"Ensuring we can't dig up anything else from this place," Leon realised. "Clever."

"Follow me." Alpha walked to the corridor leading to the upgrade chamber area. "Oh and what's in there belongs to you." He indicated a small footlocker by the door.

Sarah opened it up to discover Leon's mk2 Recon Armour. She gave a surprised look at Alpha who just shrugged in reply.

"I no longer have much use for it. Feel free to go up to the office. You can watch our battle from there."

**Conversion chamber**

"Follow me."

Leon didn't have time to reply before Alpha jumped up high onto the roof of the nearest conversion dome and then away out of sight.

Using his new legs Leon followed suit, landing smoothly on top of the dome and facing off against Alpha who'd jumped several domes away.

"It's been a long time since I performed this dance. I wonder if I can remember the steps."

Leon grinned at hearing that. "Let's see."

"Yes..." Moving like the wind Alpha raised his right wrist and snapped off 3 plasma bolts from his attached pistol forcing Leon to duck down. He shot off two laser blasts in return but Alpha had jumped off his dome out of sight.

_A free for all, eh? OK Alpha let's see what you've got._

**Overseer's Office**

"This is nuts!" Kayla repeated as they watched the two face off on the monitors.

"Yeah, so you keep saying," Sarah, along with Dan, was checking out the other computers in the office.

"Aren't you worried about Leon?" Reilly was a little disturbed by Sarah's apparent lack of concern.

"He can take care of himself," Sarah said confidently. "I'm more worried about what else is hidden down here and why our friend out there was so quick to give himself to us." She accessed her way through several menus before finding more detailed vault plans. "I knew it!"  
"What?"

"There's 2 more levels beneath this one! The plans were only known to the Overseer, Vaughan and a select few others. What the hell is down there...damn, it's code locked!"

"So we can't access it without Alpha?" Dan guessed it had to be a personal access code and not one that could be hacked.

"Oh god, Leon!" Kayla blanched as she saw the fight taking a big turn for the worse.

**Conversion chamber**

Leon had walked into one of his own classic ambushes. Alpha had incorporated a stealth system of his own into his power armour and before Leon knew it Alpha decloaked in front of him; swatted his Metal Blaster away across the floor with his left fist and slammed his right fist into Leon's chest sending him flying backward onto the floor with amazing force. If he'd still been organic Leon knew his whole ribcage would have caved, as it was blood flew from his mouth and he knew it had done some internal damage.

"Still think you can win this easily, Lone Wanderer?" Alpha taunted as he flexed his right fist. He was strong enough as it was but the Ballistic Fist he'd attached made him a metal powerhouse.

"Power's not everything," Leon spat out a mouthful of blood as he got to his knees.

Alpha snorted and leapt high in the air at him, cocking his right fist back for another crushing blow, but Leon rolled aside and Alpha ended up slamming his fist into the floor and blasting a mini crater in it. He didn't have time to regain his footing before Leon's foot slammed into his face and sent him for an uncontrolled flight and heavy landing.

"As I said, it's not everything. Especially if you can't hit." Leon's improved healing implant had already kicked in and was staunching his internal bleeding but he couldn't risk another hit like that.

"And you can't defeat me if you can't see me!" Alpha moved his hand to his pip-boy to reactivate his stealth system but Leon had anticipated this and tossed a VATS assisted plasma grenade at him.

Alpha threw himself backward and raised both hands as a shield. He survived unscathed but his pip-boy was reduced to a sparking and shorting mess as it took the full blast.

"Now..." Leon's voice had gained some confidence. "...Where were we?"

Alpha cursed mentally as his stealth capability was shot. His confidence returned, however, when he saw Leon carried no back up gun. "You were about to lose!"

Leon just smirked when Alpha raised his right arm and with good reason; the barrel of his plasma gun had bent from the grenade's force. "That's my line."

Alpha gave out a feral snarl before raising his Ballistic Fist again. "I was going to make it quick but now I think I'll draw your pain out!"  
"Bring it." Leon grinned.

For all his talk of logic and wisdom Alpha wasn't immune to Leon's insults and he was fast losing his focus as he lunged at Leon again. Leon ducked his next punch but ended up flying backward again from Alpha's follow up front kick.

"A pity you didn't join me, we'd have been unstoppable as a team," Alpha remarked as Leon regained his feet.

"And why would I settle for second best?" Leon taunted in reply.

Alpha's face contorted with rage and he launched himself at Leon again.

"If that fist's all you've got left Alpha you're as good as done," Leon sneered as he dodged another two hate filled punches although he now had his back to one of the conversion domes.

Alpha, seeing Leon's back to the wall of the dome, just took this as a bluff and ran at him full tilt with his Ballistic Fist. Instead of trying to jumping out of the way though, Leon twisted his body sideways causing Alpha's punch to go wide of the mark. Before Alpha could pull back Leon popped out his sword blade and brought it down on Alpha's organic face, opening up a massive gash and scarring him for life. Leon danced away out of reach and gave a cocky grin as Alpha roared and flailed around in rage.

By now Alpha was seeing red, literally as well as figuratively; blood was flowing out of the gash into his left eye. "You...!"  
"You're not the only one who can upgrade," Leon gloated as he showed off his blade before retracting it.

"True, but it will not affect the outcome!" Alpha took Leon by surprise as he shoulder charged into him and pulled him into a bear hug. Alpha started slamming him around into the walls of the domes before he could wriggle free.

Leon was almost seeing stars as he was bashed from wall to wall. He'd only just regained his vision in time to see Alpha's fist cannon straight into his jaw, causing him to spit out another shower of blood. Alpha didn't let up as he held him up with his Ballistic Fist hand and slammed the other into his solar plexus knocking the wind out of him and nearly cracking a rib in the same instant.

"I thought you better than this, Lone Wanderer. How disappointing!" It was Alpha's turn to smirk as he followed up with a great uppercut and sent Leon flying to land in a dazed heap on the floor several feet away.

"Ugggh," Leon grunted as his face self-healed and regenerated. He knew goading Alpha for too long without finishing it had been a mistake. His despair faded though when he realised just what he'd landed on.

"Where are all your cutting words now, _Leon_?" Alpha's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I did think you'd have more than this in the end. "

Astonishingly Leon laughed in reply. "Be careful what you wish for, Alpha. You just might get it."

Leon got back on his feet and turned around revealing the reason he'd been so flippant: his Metal Blaster was back in his hands.

Alpha cursed his own bad judgement and the Lone Wanderer's amazing luck. He knew even he wasn't fast enough to get out of this one. "Well played, Lone Wanderer. You win this battle. But you'll find that deleting me won't bring peace to the wasteland."

Leon shrugged. "Maybe not. But it's a start!"

Leon emptied half his power pack into Alpha, blowing away the cybernetic side of his face and most of his chest plating.

**Overseer's Office**

A cheer roared through the office as they saw the smoking wreck of Alpha crash to the ground.

"It's over," Kayla sighed in relief.

"Not yet," Dan disagreed. "We've got to find out what's in the basement of this...hey what?"

The screens they'd been watching the fight on had suddenly gone blank. The mystery didn't last long, however, as the blank screen was replaced with a face they all knew and hated well.

"You've got a lot to answer for, Delta!" Sarah gave her rage full vent as the memories of the battle came flooding back.

"Several hundred lives at least including Yuna's dad," Dan joined in contemptuously. "There's no way out now, we'll make sure you answer for every single one!"

"Will you now?" Delta sounded indifferent and almost bored. "I think not. The lower levels are sealed and the only one up there with the access code has been deleted by your hero's hand. He and all of you will be the ones answering for our Commander's deletion! Enjoy your victory...because it lasts all of three minutes!"

Delta's face vanished and was replaced by a digital display of 3 minutes. It began counting down almost as soon as it came up and an alarm klaxon started sounding through the vault...

**Conversion chamber**

Leon didn't wait around after downing Alpha. He knew the klaxon could only mean one thing and he didn't intend to waste any of his borrowed time. He ran through the walkways and back to the exit corridor without looking back. He never saw a mortally wounded Alpha, or rather Professor Vaughan, pulling himself across the floor to prop himself against one of the domes. It was a herculean effort; the circuits of his power armour were shot up and disabled, half his face and chest was burnt beyond recognition and he was leaking blood and lubricant. But it was the first free movement he had been capable of in over two centuries; before his own experimentation stole his life from him. He had time for a small smile and to mentally wish Leon well before the vault exploded around him two and a half minutes later.

**Vault 66 entrance**

"Leon!"

Leon had just enough time to clear the door before the explosion lifted him clean off his feet and sent him for his third unscheduled flight of the day. He landed in a heap at Sarah's feet.

"Did everyone get out?" He asked as he got to his feet spitting out a mouthful of grass and dirt.

A relieved Sarah nodded in reply. She and everyone else had beaten him out by only thirty seconds.

"You look like shit," Dan joked.

"Look who's talking," Leon retorted. "That was a real quick ten minutes he left us!"

"It was Delta," Kayla spat in disgust. "He overrode the systems and tripped the self destruct early."

"He was still inside?"

"Looks that way," Sarah said with quiet satisfaction. "There were 2 more secret levels buried underneath the Overseer floor and he barricaded himself down there. Looks like he just went down with the ship."

Leon sighed. "Pity. I was hoping to introduce him to my fists and blade. At least the fucker's gone...and this place won't be putting out any more cyborg killers."

"I guess that's the best we could have hoped for."

**Wasteland: 100 miles west**

They wouldn't have been so happy if they'd known the truth: Delta had detonated the vault remotely from inside a Vertibird which was now flying westward at top speed alongside two others. The floors beneath the Overseer's office had also been the VIP entrance accessed by a Vertibird landing pad and this time they'd used it as an escape route.

"It's over, isn't it?" Iota asked grimly as she joined Delta at the controls.

"This battle is, yes," Delta replied solemnly. "But be steadfast. We haven't lost everything and we will rebuild our race."

"Where are we going? Did Commander Alpha give us a final destination?"  
"Somewhere very far from here. Somewhere we won't be found until we are ready to be," Delta gave a chilling smile. "It will take some time but we will prevail."  
Iota returned the smile. "We've waited for 200 years. A few more won't matter and the end result will be worth it!"

Delta heard the vicious streak in her voice; it was something he shared. He'd have loved dearly to return and decorate the ground of the Capital Wasteland with the Lone Wanderer's guts. But he was a realist; revenge and foolish pride would have to wait. He had a duty to restore the cyborg race to its full capability; Alpha would expect no less. Plus there was the skill and luck of the Lone Wanderer; he seemed to have both in spades. No, best to bail out and call it even for now. As he had said himself though, it was only a matter of time before they could return and then all old scores could be settled. The cyber race would have its moment yet...

**Baltimore Haven ruins**

Sarah had wanted to go straight back to the Citadel but Leon had other plans and their Vertibird had ended up back where they'd started. They were the only living things here now; everyone else had long since left for the Capital Wasteland. On arrival Leon had got out of the Vertibird, headed up onto the walls where they'd made their desperate stand and ten minutes later he was still standing up there just staring at the wrecked apartment blocks.

"What's with him?" A worried Vargas asked Sarah. "I know he's been through hell but..."  
"I'll go find out," Sarah shared his worry but she was impatient to get home.

As she joined him on the half trashed ramparts she knew that'd be awhile yet: he was wearing his 'moody but deep in thought' face.

"You see something I don't or is it just the nice view you're staying here for, Leon?"

"I'm just pissed off Sarah, that's all," Leon grunted in reply.

"Pissed off that we lost so many people here? Even you can't save everyone."

Leon's eyes narrowed. "It's not just that. I'm pissed off because this could have gone better and been avoided. I'm pissed off because we just lost the best settlement in the wasteland I've ever seen. I'm pissed off because we're still paying for the mistakes of some stupid pricks who thought they had the right to play God 200 years ago. I'm pissed off because we had a chance to start rebuilding things from here and now that's as dead as the people we lost...!" Leon stopped his rant as he realised just how high his voice had got and Sarah was looking at him open mouthed. "Sorry."

Sarah gave him a warm smile. "It's ok. We all need to let it out once in awhile. So long as I can do the same to you now and again?"  
Leon returned the smile on hearing that. "Just so frustrating that's all. You take two steps forward in rebuilding this fucked up world..."

"...And you slide back three," Sarah finished for him. "Now you know how my father and the rest of the Brotherhood have been feeling all these years."

"You know the best part? I'm pissed off we couldn't save Professor Vaughan and some of the other cyborgs too. We could really have used their help, not to mention all their experience. You think that's nuts?"

"No I think you're starting to think like a Brotherhood soldier: trying to salvage something for the future. You were right; the cyborgs were victims too in a way. Even Vaughan himself."

Leon nodded. "For all his evil, I know why Alpha felt as he did. Never thought I'd meet anyone who hated the Enclave and its predecessors more than me. "

"You regret what we had to do?"

"No I don't," Leon's voice went hard again. "Good ideals and reasons don't justify mass slaughter and violating people against their will. That's why we stopped Eden, that's why we stopped Alpha. But looking at this...it feels like we won nothing at all."  
Sarah was incredulous. "We stop a threat that could have been worse than the Super Mutants and the Enclave and you call it nothing?"

"I guess I said that the wrong way. What I meant was we're not exactly improving anything. Alright, we've killed two big threats to the Capital Wasteland but, other than my dad's purifier, is life any better back there now? Not by much. We have to start building again, Sarah. Working with Dan and his friends helped me see that."

"Sounds like you've got something big in mind," Sarah's interest had doubled.

"Yeah I have. Funny you say that I was thinking like Brotherhood because I'm not sure you or your dad will like my idea either."

Sarah showed a little impatience. "I'll never know unless you start telling me!"

Leon did and her jaw didn't just drop but it almost went through the floor as she couldn't believe what she was hearing and, even more amazing, the fact that it was Leon saying it.

"I'm planning on taking it to the Citadel tomorrow once I've rested up," Leon went on.

"Which means I'd better be there too," Sarah sighed. "You're right; father's not going to like it. It just seems..."

"...Overambitious? Daring? Adventuristic maybe?" Leon smiled.

Sarah returned the grin. "All that and probably nuts along with it. I can't believe I'm saying this but...I'll back you up. After all this I can see why you're thinking of this. We'll try and graft it into the peace plan I was coming up with for our Enclave friends. Now let's go home. I'm sure Amata wants some catch-up time before tomorrow!"

Leon tried his best to ignore Sarah's sly look as he returned to the Vertibird. It was going to be an interesting day at the Citadel tomorrow...


	19. Peace from the Ashes

Finally I'm on a roll! Not quite the end of last week as I planned but the ending was harder to make than I thought. Still my first fic is finally complete.

DN 506: I'm definitely cooking up another fic or 2 to follow on. The next main one will be on the New Vegas theatre and I might do a smaller side fic here in the Capital Wasteland depending on demand.

Nukeman: Can't say exactly where they're going but the cyborg threat is far from finished...

I'll try and start the next one soon and try and get that one finished sooner than a year and a half (yeah I'm crap on speed). Hope you enjoyed this and I'll see you on the next one...

**Grayditch –next morning**

Leon had come back to a very different Grayditch to the one he'd left behind. Alphonse and the remaining dwellers of Vault 101 hadn't been idle; they'd set about restoring and rebuilding as much as they could. Nearly all the houses that had been boarded up were now open and, with a little shoring up and rebuilding, were now functional. 2 'open-air' houses in the centre now had tarpaulin covers and were now a makeshift cafeteria and rest area. Scavenging parties to Vault 108 had brought back a good supply of bedding and blankets. Add to all that the supply and water caravans and they had the basics pretty much covered.

The influx of the Vault 99 survivors had been another blessing for the fledgling settlement. Whilst their extra numbers had been some problem at first they'd more than made up for it with their wasteland experience and settlement know-how. It would take a lot of time but a second Haven type settlement was definitely on the cards. Life was harder than both groups had before but it was durable and better yet it was free.

Everyone had given Leon a warm welcome back though they couldn't help but be unnerved by Leon's new limbs and eyes.

"Give them time," Amata had said. "You're still you and they'll come around like I did."

She'd then shown him the home she'd taken, which happened to be the Brandice old house. Her father, intent on giving his daughter some privacy and independence, had taken up residence in the Wilks home. Leon considered this a real stroke of luck as it seemed Amata had been busy herself in the short time he'd been away. God only knew how and where she'd procured a set of all-nighter sleepwear but she had as Leon discovered later when she'd invited him upstairs. Leon had been mind and tongue tied when he entered her bedroom and found her in a very provocative position on the bed; the only word that crossed his mind was _whoa!_

One 'private victory party' and a few hours sleep later he was waking up to an already awake Amata pulling him into another deep kiss.

"I love you," Amata sighed as she broke the kiss. She'd almost been overcome with relief when she first saw him getting off the Vertibird the previous night. "Please try not to do anything like that again. I don't know if I could stand losing you!"

"I love you," Leon had never been happier in his life. "But I can't really promise, Amata. You know that, I'm still a Brotherhood soldier and a wasteland hero after all."

"Well at least you're not the _Lone _Wanderer anymore," Amata teased him seductively. "Think you can manage one more time before we have to go? I really missed you."

"As much as I'd love that we should get ready," Leon admitted with some disappointment. He'd have dearly loved to stay and make out with Amata the whole morning but there was too much important business at the Citadel. "You're getting knighted today and I've got a peace deal to push through."  
"Think you've got a good chance of pulling it off?"

"If it were the Outcasts or the main Brotherhood I was dealing with it'd be a definite no. As it is with Sarah backing me up and given I'm dealing with her father? Just better than even I'd say."

"I'll head downstairs to the water barrels first then," Amata rolled off the bed. "See you in a minute."

Outside Sarah was getting an unusual request from Alphonse as she was getting their Vertibird ready for flight again.

"I know outsiders aren't supposed to enter your Citadel but do you mind if I...?"  
"You want to come in with us? Well, since Amata's going to be a Knight by day's end I suppose I'll only be bending the rules a little, plus there's this peace plan of Leon's. We could use another voice backing it up if it gets to argument. No, scratch that, _when_ it gets to argument."

"I heard you talking about it a little last night," Alphonse revealed. "What's the problem with it? It sounds sensible enough."

"The problem is it needs my father, Rothchild and the rest of the Brotherhood to break one last taboo," Sarah told him. "Even though they've pretty much done all the others this one is going to take something special."

Alphonse knew exactly where she was coming from. It was like suggesting to him five years ago that Vault 101 should have been opened then. "If my support counts for anything in there then you have it. "  
"Not sure it will but thanks anyway. You should get aboard. Our two heroes look like they're ready." Sarah saw Amata and Leon emerge from Amata's house and head toward them to board.

"Thanks for everything, Sarah," Amata whispered quietly as Leon and Alphonse got aboard.

"So it went well last night?" Sarah grinned.

"Oh you could say that!" Amata replied dreamily as she boarded. "I owe you one!"

Sarah gave herself a quiet congratulation as she followed Amata in. It had been her who'd given Amata the nightwear on her return; she'd actually found it herself a few months back in the DC ruins while on a tech scavenging run. Whilst she'd had no use for it herself she was glad she hadn't just thrown it away: it had helped make up for her earlier not so successful matchmaking efforts...

**Citadel conference room**

Houser, Dan and the other Enclave personnel had been brought to the Citadel first thing that morning expecting to be forced to sign a quick formal surrender and then be sent to Grayditch as guards or into the wasteland as exiles. But that hadn't happened and they had been left waiting for over 2 hours. For the first time since leaving Baltimore Haven a lot of them were feeling real concern.

"What the hell's taking so long?" Dan was muttering. Despite having a cool head even his nerves were starting to fray.

"I'm not sure," Houser replied. "Could be some of the Brotherhood's leaders had another plan in mind and they're still arguing over it."  
Doc Farnsworth nodded in agreement. "I'm certain that's what it is. Leon and our other saviours probably put forward a more generous plan and their leaders are in the process of shooting it down now I should imagine."

"Yeah. We're still in the dog house with the Brotherhood and most of the people down here," Severance sighed. "I just hope we get the benefit of the doubt."

Although the Pride and Sarah were treating them as equals the rest of the Brotherhood Knights and Initiates had still been giving them the cold shoulder when they'd arrived.

"We're about to find out," Kayla was the first to see one of her old interrogators, Paladin Tristan, coming in.

Dan and Houser gave Tristan a quick salute as he entered. Despite their rustic titles and second generation equipment the Brotherhood was still a professional military force and both knew that good decorum could work in their favour.

"Apologies for the long wait," Tristan looked genuinely contrite as he returned the salute. "But this morning has been...more than a little different. We were intent on making a quick peace settlement but something unexpected was proposed and the Brotherhood has been arguing over it all morning. The debate got a little heated but it was broadly agreed on in the end. Here's the basic text for you to look at before you meet with the Elder."

Tristan passed Houser a piece of paper with a hastily written summary. Houser read it through and nearly passed out from shock. If the Brotherhood was serious, things weren't as bad as he and his friends had thought, they were better than he dreamed possible.

The Enclave Remnant, it seemed, was to be absorbed into the Brotherhood's eastern chapter forces and to be made full Knights, Paladins and Scribes where appropriate. That alone was a staggering concept for Houser. He could see a lot of the Brotherhood not being too happy with that idea. As he read on he quickly discovered that wasn't the half of it. The next idea was for the formation of a new government comprised of the Brotherhood and all of the settlements with the view of first consolidating and rebuilding in the Capital Wasteland and then expanding, trying to reclaim and restore as much of the old US as they could reach. In short: the Brotherhood was absorbing not only them but their mantle as well!

"This is a serious plan?" Farnsworth asked in disbelief as he and the others read it over Houser's shoulder.

"Can't say I blame you," Tristan replied. "I and everyone else here had trouble believing it too."

"Well I personally think it's a pretty good deal, once we get the details sorted out," Houser said. "I didn't expect this sort of offer. The only problem I see is how your side will take it, especially Leon after what went down last year."

Tristan snorted. "Leon is one you don't have to worry about given that he wrote this." That brought everyone up short. "Yes, together with Sentinel Lyons he drafted and presented it to the Elder early this morning. You really must have made an impression for them to do this."  
"I imagine it caused quite a stir," Farnsworth mused.

"You have no idea..." 

**2 hours earlier- Citadel main lab**

"If it were anyone else besides you two proposing this I'd be wondering whether they hadn't got too close to the other side and where their loyalties were," Rothchild spluttered as he and Elder Lyons finished reading the proposal. "However given what happened last year and your pivotal roles then I can't really do that."  
"I think we should hear your reasoning behind this plan," Lyons said calmly.

"No kidding," Knight Vasquez broke in. Nearly everyone in the lab was a part of the conversation by now. "You're expecting us to join with the same bunch of murderers who tried to 'purify' the wasteland last year? You forgot that already?"

"Think about who you're talking to, Vasquez!" Kodiak snapped. "You don't forget the death of your dad in a hurry!"

"It's all right," Sarah assured a very humbled looking Vasquez. "He's got a good point that needs answering."

Leon nodded in agreement. "And I'll answer it. These aren't the same people who did all that. They're a lot like we are in a way: a splinter faction. They were in Baltimore for most of the time and had no part of Eden's purity crap. They didn't have much time for Autumn either. The old order's gone now; we saw to that at Raven Rock and Adams."  
"If anyone doubts his word on that you have mine and the word of the Pride as well," Sarah added. "If it weren't for them the wasteland would be swimming in cyborgs and we'd have lost Leon to them."

"And if anyone doubts _that_..." Leon unzipped his right arm cover and let it drop to the floor revealing his new Adamantium arm and then he took off the sunglasses he was wearing, causing a lot of sharp breath intakes throughout the room. Most had been forewarned of his upgrades but actually seeing them was something else. "If they hadn't intervened when they did I'd be joining Alpha on his crusade about now."

Lyons nodded. "That I can understand. But can you vouch for their absolute loyalty? Should they betray us..."

"They know the consequences: if they do I'll go after them myself, " Leon assured him. "Besides there's only just over 60 of them now. Not enough to start their old cause over again. But they're experienced soldiers and already power armour trained, can we afford to let that slide?"

"You make a strong case given our ongoing Super Mutant problem," Rothchild admitted. "But I'm even less comfortable with your other idea. Why would we even consider taking up the Enclave's failed cause?"

"It wasn't the ideal or the cause that was really wrong. The Enclave failed because it tried to bully its way into governing, they sacrificed America's founding principles just for expediency and because they had a couple of worthless assholes leading them," Leon said bluntly. "They deserved to fail and they deserved all the death we dealt them. But, be that as it may, their basic ideal of rebuilding the country wasn't a bad one; it was just very poorly executed. We just have to pick it up, modify it a little and then run with it."

"Modify it how?" Lyons was curious despite his initial scepticism. "After all we did to the Enclave we can hardly claim to be the true guardians of America. It'd just look like opportunism at best."

"No we can't. In fact I'm not sure what we should call the new setup yet. We can't use America's name and not just for that reason."  
"Then what are you proposing?" Rothchild's interest was starting to pique as well.

"For starters just a simple alliance between us and all the settlements; well as simple as we can get it. If we're going to rebuild anything we'll need unity. The Super Mutants are still a major threat but if we can join everyone together we can turn the tide. If they can't take prisoners their numbers will start drying up. All the better if we can get a strike team back into Vault 87 and blow their infection equipment."

"I never figured you for the politics type, Leon," Tristan broke in. "A few weeks ago you were just a hell of a good doctor and an even better soldier. Why are you pushing for this so hard now?"  
Leon snorted at that. "Hell, I'm not the political type. I'm not up to that stuff and never will be. But the last few weeks have made me realise one thing: if we don't do this and start rebuilding it'll only be a matter of time before someone else tries to. The Enclave has already, Alpha would certainly have come down here and tried if he'd won at Baltimore and let's not forget Burke, Littlehorn and other scum like them. If we can make this work and put a working government together we can get rid of them and their Talon Company lapdogs. I don't know about you but I've had it up to here with them; it's time we got rid of them once and for all."

Leon stole a glance round the room to see if he was changing any minds. Nearly every face he scanned was the same; namely uncertain and unsure, but that was better than the outright opposition he'd faced from many at the start.

Lyons turned to Rothchild with a neutral expression. "He might have something worthwhile here but in light of the, radical nature of the plan shall we say, I think we are going to have to put it to the whole chapter."

Leon and Sarah exchanged an alarmed look. They'd not anticipated this.

"Father that could take too long. Our guests will be arriving soon to sign a peace deal with us; they won't want to wait for this!"

"They don't have a choice Sarah," Lyons wasn't budging an inch. "A few years ago I made the mistake of assuming everyone in the chapter would realise I was doing what I thought to be the right thing and follow me. The result of that was a schism and then the Outcasts. I'm not risking a repeat of that and swelling Casdin's ranks any further. He's done enough damage with what he has."

Leon knew he had to concede that point. He'd had a taste of the Outcasts and their ways a year ago and it was not something he liked. They were arrogant, inward looking, selfish and plainly not much of an example to follow. He guessed Lyons' heart must have been broken when they cut loose and began their aggressive push on technology seizure and killing anyone who got in their way.

"He's right, Sarah," Leon admitted. "This isn't something we can just impose. Besides if we're bringing back democracy we have to start practising it, else we'll be the biggest hypocrites of all time."

"I'll break the news to the Enclave representatives myself," Tristan volunteered as he went over to Amata. "And you, Knight Almodovar, should get to the armory and then up to Paladin Gunny. From Knight level up power armour training is mandatory."  
"Wish me luck guys," Amata sighed as a small laugh went around the room at her expense.

"You went through the Battle of Baltimore Haven. This'll be a cakewalk next to that," Sarah assured her.

"You should come with me through the Citadel, Leon," Lyons said. "If I'm to sell this plan I think I'll need your help to do it."

**Citadel conference room**

"So, what do you think?" Tristan asked as he finished filling them in.

"I've never heard of anything so overambitious and crazy in my life," Houser remarked. "But I'm damned glad I got the chance to!"  
"It's forward looking, we all stay alive and in the game so to speak," Farnsworth pitched in agreement. "What's not to like?"

"Just one thing," Kayla wondered. "Why absorb us into the Brotherhood at all? Wouldn't a simple peace do?"

"No it wouldn't," Tristan said flatly. "This was Leon's idea of guaranteeing your safety more than anything else. You joining us helps to silence your critics inside the Brotherhood and will prevent any wasteland reprisals. We might be able to put the past behind us but that doesn't mean the rest of the population will. If you're wearing our flag they'll welcome you with open arms."

"And after all that we start building a new country altogether?" Dan asked with a lot of doubt. "I suppose it was too much to hope we could stick with putting the US back on the map."

"Same problem, Dan," Leon had entered the room behind Tristan. "I know it's unfair but America's name has been desecrated by Eden and Autumn. Their abuses and false promises are all it's remembered for now in the Capital Wasteland. That doesn't mean to say it's gone for good though; we've got the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights stashed away in Rivet City after all. Once we've got a solid set-up going maybe we can rename it new America or something in a few years."  
"Alas he's right," Farnsworth had said as much himself on previous occasions. "The West Coast probably has much the same point of view due to Richardson's lunacy and I suppose in the rest of the country the name doesn't mean much of anything anymore. Too much time has passed."

"I've been to the Pitt, what was Pittsburgh once, and a slice of hell called Point Lookout," Leon shuddered as he mentioned that. "Both were shitholes. There wasn't much trace of the old USA in either. I don't doubt the rest isn't going to be much better. We can improve things but there's hardly anything of the old world to restore; we have to rebuild and start over again."  
"You do realise the depth of this endeavour, Leon," Farnsworth warned. "It certainly won't be completed in our lifetimes."

"I'd be amazed if it were finished in our kids' lifetimes," Leon sighed. "But we have to do this _right_. We can't make Autumn's mistake and try and conquer everything because sooner or later you get your ass kicked. Anyway we're still neck deep in local problems. I bet Burke and his friends will be arrogant and stupid enough to try and make a comeback, the wasteland's still swimming in Raiders and Super Mutants and then there's Casdin and his Outcasts."

"You think he'll try and stop this?" Tristan had never thought of Henry Casdin as the troublemaking type but then again, seeing what the Outcasts had been doing, he knew you couldn't take anyone for granted.

Leon didn't mince words. "I know the Elder considered him a friend once but he's either lost control of his men or he's gone bad. Did I tell you about the time I dealt with some of them in the ruins?"

"Yeah you did," Tristan remembered. "If the rest of them are anything like Defender Sibley we could have real trouble."

"Plus Casdin won't like being sidelined by events. The main reason he broke away was he thought Lyons wasn't pursuing technology enough. Thanks to the Enclave Crawler and outposts we took we've got the biggest haul in the whole wasteland and the whole joke's on him. Now we're the biggest thing going, politically as well as in military strength. He's going to like that even less."

"Let's not be too pessimistic," Houser reasoned. "Maybe he can be reasoned with, we have a lot of tech to bargain with now after all."

Leon managed a smile. "Yeah. Well I'd best get going. I've got a lot of persuading to do with the Elder and not a lot of time to do it in. I'll catch up with you later."

**Citadel Walls-later that afternoon**

A few long hours later and Leon was exhausted. He'd known getting this through would be hard but the legwork, negotiating and arguments had taken its toll and he'd knew he'd sleep well tonight.

"Come on you worthless pukes! Knight Commander Kallan would be laughing at this!"

On hearing Gunny's voice Leon looked down over the walls to a surprising sight; namely his old vault friends Butch, Freddie, Suzie and Christine along with Jake and Yuna in one of Paladin Gunny's training sessions; well at least that was what he would call it, for anyone else it was a hell session. They'd been running around the Citadel with fully laden backpacks and weights on their arms and legs for the last twenty minutes and didn't look like finishing anytime soon.

Leon allowed himself a grin. At least he wasn't suffering that today.

"Leon?"

Leon turned to see Alphonse Almodovar climbing the stairs to join him on the gantry. "Alphonse."

"You look tired," Alphonse said with real concern.

"I am tired. I never knew this sort of thing took this much out of you. Makes me wish I was still in combat."

Alphonse could relate to that. Administration, negotiation and leadership were always more demanding than they first seemed. "How do you think it went? Do you think you've done enough to push it through?"

"I think so. We had a lot of heated arguments; I wasn't the only one with a big hatred of the Enclave, but I think we swung the argument and I don't think anyone's heading for the Outcasts anytime soon. "

"I suppose the biggest sticking point was having to break away from the West Coast Brotherhood altogether?"

Leon gave Alphonse a surprised look. "How did you...?"  
"While you were away Elder Lyons paid our settlement a visit and we got talking. For a long time in fact; we had a few stories to share."

Leon nodded. "So you got to understand the Brotherhood pretty well?"

"Yes, well at least this faction of it. He told me of his split from Lost Hills and his problems out here, makes my problems when I was Overseer almost insignificant."  
"He's had a lot of regrets and I think I might have added to them today," Leon said guiltily. "I think one of his biggest hopes was to get back together with the West Coast Brotherhood."

"Don't blame yourself for that. From what you and he told me that was a forlorn hope at best," Alphonse was adamant. "You and he were both right: this wasteland needs help and action now. It can't afford to wait for a bunch of self and technology obsessed fools half a world away can it?"

"No, I guess not."

"Anyway that wasn't the real reason I was looking for you. I came to apologise and thank you yet again Leon."

Leon was stunned. "I thought we'd put last year behind us."  
"I meant for protecting Amata and your current condition. I can only imagine how painful that was."

"Don't worry, I've come to terms with it and it's got some good uses when it comes to a fight," Leon said honestly.

"I can imagine. Just one question: do you love my daughter as much as she loves you?"

Leon nearly swallowed his tongue. "What?"

Alphonse just gave him a knowing smile. "Give an old man some credit. I've seen the way she looks at you; it's the same look her mother used to give me."

Leon felt uncomfortable but managed to look Alphonse square in the eye. "Then your answer's yes. If I had to go through all this again to protect her I would. I'm sorry if you don't approve but I love her more than anyone else in the world."

"Oh but I do approve. Since we moved out here I think you're the best she could have. You've saved her life more than once, she cares for you and now I'm certain you feel the same...well what else can I say? Take care of her."

Leon, for a brief moment, was at a complete loss. To think this was the same former Overseer he'd almost splattered across a wall little over a year ago. "I will, I promise. Well providing she doesn't run me into the ground; under that cool exterior she's a hellcat!"

Alphonse smirked at that. Amata had inherited more than one of his wife's traits that was for certain and Leon was in for a lot of sleepless nights!

Leon had pretty much guessed the same thing after what Amata had put him through last night but he didn't mind: quite the reverse in fact. For once in his life, and the wasteland, had direction and a sense of hope. Now he, along with his friends, had to make the most of it...

**Six months later- under remains of Vault 66 **

The VIP sub-level access had remained undiscovered since Delta and Iota had used it to escape. The computers and control panels, idle for so long, suddenly came alive again as screens switched back on and started displaying chilling readouts.

SATELLITE CONTACT WITH NEW BASE ESTABLISHED. PHOENIX PROTOCOL SUCCESSFUL: PROJECT STEELGUARD STILL VIABLE. DOWNLOADING DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS TO NEW BASE.

The screen then went dark and then was replaced by the cold face of the late Commander Alpha.

"My designation is Commander Alpha. I am the creator of the cyborg race and this is my last will and testament..."

**Narrator's end sequence**

_And so, through the Lone Wanderer, another threat to the security of the Capital Wasteland was removed. Despite suffering a lot of pain and nearly becoming the enemy he'd fought so hard against, the Wanderer refused to give in to despair at losing much of his humanity or the temptation of revenge for his lost father. He chose to forgive and rebuild rather than avenge and destroy and his actions had great impact on many others around him..._

_Despite losing her father, her home and nearly everything she knew Yuna followed the Wanderer's example and persevered. She settled in Grayditch with Jake and the other survivors from Baltimore Haven. Life was initially hard but together with their new friends from Vault 101 the settlement would thrive. Jake finally acted on his long time feelings and revealed his love for her...and she readily returned it._

_Raven and the few remaining Red Blades put their Raider pasts behind them. On seeing there was an alternative to their desperate renegade existence they joined the Rivet City guards where they excelled in defending the water caravans from all threats._

_Nothing was heard from Vault 101 after most of its residents abandoned it. As tough as life in the wasteland could be none would have traded their free existence for life under Allen Mack. He had burned his boats completely with his failed coup. No one tried to return and the vault door stayed sealed anyway. No one knew what happened inside the vault after the exodus...and in the end very few cared._

_Elder Lyons finally realised that reconciliation between Lost Hills and his chapter was no longer possible after the agreement with the Enclave Remnants. Although it was personally painful for him, he finished what he had begun so long ago, severed ties altogether with the West Coast and renamed the chapter as the Capital Brotherhood, recognising that they were the defenders of the land and its people who were now joining the new Brotherhood in increasing numbers. Eventually he would retire from active service and proposed Scribe Rothchild as his successor._

_The mistrust between the soldiers of the Brotherhood and its newest members lingered for awhile despite the success of the peace agreement. The Remnant however, determined not to fail again after losing Baltimore Haven, refused to be pushed aside and threw everything into their new cause and flag with zeal. Thomas Severance, Kayla and Dan Kerrigan proved themselves on the battlefield time and again against the Super Mutants and eventually helped push them out of most of the DC ruins. Doc Farnsworth and Major Houser joined the Scribes and would later become valued advisors to the new Elder Rothchild. It was they who eventually created the name for their new alliance, arguing that if the wasteland wasn't prepared to accept America's name it could at least assume its totem as the land of the free, and hence the Free Capital Republic was born. _

_The new alliance proved harder to establish than was first thought. Initially the new Paradise Falls settlement and Little Lamplight refused to join. But over time, and several attacks by Talons and Raiders, Paradise Falls found isolation untenable and followed Rivet City, Megaton, Canterbury Commons, Big Town and Tenpenny Tower into the fledgling Free Capital Republic. Little Lamplight stayed independent but loosely attached as it still expelled its 'mungos' to Big Town. The new alliance would suffer casualties and loss, it would be tested to breaking point but it the end it endured and would establish a new order in the Capital Wasteland: one that was not favourable to the likes of parasites like Talon Company or Daniel Littlehorn. _

_As for the Wanderer, he continued to watch over the wasteland and its people. With his old love Amata at his side, his comrades in the Brotherhood and his old family from Vault 101 he finally found a place to belong and a new cause to follow. He knew that despite winning this battle and ending the cyborg threat, building a new America out of the ruined ashes of the old would be a lifetime effort and a war in itself. And war...war never changes._


End file.
